Gombe can’t pay N70,000 minimum wage — Gov. Inuwa Yahaya

The Gombe state Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, said Tuesday that his administration cannot pay the new national minimum wage of N70,000.

Mr Yahaya, who chairs the Northern Governors Forum, spoke at a meeting with labour leaders, civil society organisations, and traders associations at the Government House in Gombe, ahead of the planned nationwide protest.

He said Gombe State’s limited allocation from the federation account makes it impossible to implement the increased wage package. This is despite the fact that the federal allocation to Gombe and all other states has increased since President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of petrol subsidies. “I cannot pay the N70,000 minimum wage, and I suspect many other states are in the same predicament,” he said.

He said even the previous minimum wage of N30,000 was a struggle for many state governments to implement. The governor also said that Gombe State has yet to receive the promised 20 trucks of rice from the federal government, intended to alleviate the suffering of its citizens.

It would be recalled that the federal government announced the donation of 20 trucks of 25kg bags of rice to each state as part of efforts to ameliorate the cost of living crisis faced by Nigerians. Mr Yahaya also said the state received only N2 billion, contrary to the N5 billion palliative allegedly given to states by the federal government.

The governor attributed last year’s fuel subsidy removal, which exacerbated Nigerians’ hardship, to a decision initiated by former President Muhammadu Buhari and announced by President Bola Tinubu. He said President Tinubu had no choice but to announce the subsidy removal, as the National Assembly was not inaugurated at the time of his swearing-in and there was no provision for petrol subsidy in the 2023 budget beyond June. Governor Yahaya urged residents of the state to shun the nationwide protests, which, he said, could lead to v+olence and destructio