Gombe Governor Inuwa Yahaya has advised workers not to expect an increase in the minimum wage to N70,000, citing significant financial limitations within his administration.
Yahaya emphasized that the current budgetary constraints make it challenging to accommodate such a substantial wage increase.
Despite the recent approval of the new minimum wage by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Yahaya explained that even the current N30,000 minimum wage poses a challenge for the state’s budget.
Speaking at a meeting with labour leaders, civil society organizations, and traders associations at the Government House in Gombe, Yahaya, who also chairs the Northern Governors Forum, emphasized the state’s limited financial capacity.
He noted that despite an increase in federal allocations to Gombe and other states following the removal of petrol subsidies, the state’s allocation remains insufficient to support the proposed wage hike.
The discussion was part of preparations for a potential nationwide protest, where Yahaya stressed the difficulties in balancing the state’s financial realities with the demands for higher wages.
“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.
Intel Region reports 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.
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 violence and destruction.
Representing Non-Governmental Organizations, the Chairman of the Gombe Network of Civil Society Organizations, Yusuf Ibrahim, presented a set of demands and called on the governor to disclose the inventory of relief supplies.
