The Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has announced his intention to pay the new N70,000 national minimum wage to workers in the state.
The position of the Governor was presented by the Deputy Governor, Manassah Daniel Jatau, who is also the Chairman of the Tripartite Committee on Minimum Wage Negotiation for the state during a press briefing held late Sunday evening, at the conference hall of the Deputy Governor’s Office, Gombe.
Represented by the State Head of Civil Service, Alh. Ahmed Kasimu Abdullahi, during the Press briefing, the Deputy Governor explained that the Governor is highly committed to ensuring that civil servants in the state enjoy the N70,000 new national minimum wage so that they can put in their best in serving the state.
He said that the Governor has set a machinery in motion and the standing committee has been fine-tuning to see to the implementation of the new minimum wage.
According to him, “Government has set the machinery for the implementation of the new national minimum wage in Gombe State. Let me assure you that His Excellency the Governor is fully determined to pay the minimum wage.
“Unlike what you have been hearing in some quarters that the governor said he won’t pay. No, not at all. His Excellency is one of the governors in the forefront of payment of the new minimum wage,” he added.
He said that Governor Inuwa has been magnanimous enough to willingly pay a N10,000 palliative in the form of a wage award since September last year to all civil servants in the state to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal which, automatically brought the minimum wage to 40,000 naira when other states couldn’t pay the 30,000 minimum wage.
The deputy governor, in a statement by Wilson Jonah Yakubu, his office’s Press Secretary/ Information Officer, stressed that “In the magnanimity of the Governor to alleviate the hardship occasioned by fuel subsidy removal, he approved the payment of N10,000 across board to all civil servants without anyone putting any pressure on him in order to make the civil servants feel better in the discharge of their duties.
“The additional 10,000 naira was because of his concern, feeling and regard to civil servants and it has made the minimum wage 40,000 instead of 30, 000 even when other states couldn’t pay the 30,000”.
He however pointed out that the negotiation committee has decided to separate the monthly salaries from the N10,000 palliative pending when the conclusion is reached in order to prepare the Civil servants to know their exact salaries when the minimum wage is finally agreed upon.
According to him, “Effective from this month of August, the normal salary will be paid, then after two days, the ten thousand naira palliative will be paid to help the worker know his actual salary and this will continue until the new minimum wage is agreed upon.”
“We are now waiting for the salary table from the federal government before we commence the negotiation. Once we reach an agreement, the implementation will begin and the N10,000 naira palliative will stop,” he added.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, Mr. Yusuf Aish, confirmed that this was the position reached at the tripartite committee meeting on the new minimum wage.
The NLC Chairperson stated, “We had a brief discussion during our negotiation in the last N30,000 minimum wage due to some balance of some payment where we have agreed that this committee is a standing committee of minimum wage negotiation in the state.”
He also stated that, “As a result, this same committee met to begin negotiation on the new N70,000 national minimum wage. However, in our tripartite committee meeting, we have agreed to wait for the time the new minimum wage table as approved by the federal government will be released.
“Whenever it is released, we will start full negotiation with a view to reaching an agreement on what is to be paid in Gombe State.”
He also explained that civil servants will receive two alert messages beginning this month of August, being the normal salary and that of N10,000 palliative, urging the civil servants to be patient pending when the negotiations are concluded.
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