Governor Yahaya: “I Cannot Pay the N70,000 Minimum Wage”

Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya announced on Tuesday that his administration is unable to pay the recently established national minimum wage of N70,000. This statement was made during a meeting with labour leaders, civil society organizations, and traders associations at the Government House in Gombe, in anticipation of a planned nationwide protest.

Governor Yahaya, who also chairs the Northern Governors Forum, explained that Gombe State’s limited allocation from the federation account makes it financially unfeasible to implement the increased wage. He suggested that many other states are facing similar challenges, despite an increase in federal allocations following President Bola Tinubu’s removal of petrol subsidies.

“I cannot pay the N70,000 minimum wage, and I suspect many other states are in the same predicament,” he stated. He also noted that even the previous minimum wage of N30,000 was a struggle for many state governments to meet.

Additionally, Governor Yahaya revealed that Gombe State has not yet received the promised 20 trucks of rice from the federal government, which were intended to help alleviate the suffering of its citizens. While the federal government announced the donation of 20 trucks of 25kg bags of rice to each state as part of efforts to address the cost of living crisis, Gombe State has only received N2 billion out of the N5 billion palliative purportedly given to states.

Governor Yahaya attributed the exacerbation of Nigerians’ hardships to the fuel subsidy removal, a decision initiated by former President Muhammadu Buhari and announced by President Bola Tinubu. He explained that President Tinubu was compelled 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.

In light of these challenges, Governor Yahaya urged Gombe residents to avoid participating in the nationwide protests, warning that such actions could lead to violence and destruction.