The Executive Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji, yesterday, revealed that NGF is not against approval of a living wage for Nigerian workers.
He added that since no state wants to retrench its workforce, it is incumbent on individual states to determine what they can afford that would not end up in the eventual downsizing of their workforce.
His words: “The NGF is not against the living wage, no governor is against the minimum wage, but what we are saying is that it must reflect fiscal federalism, ability and capacity to pay. No Governor wants to retrench, if there is a minimum wage today without a concurrent increment in what we are earning, no state can pay, and that is the conversation we are having- that, look, we want to give you a living wage, but we must look at what comes to the states and whatever is in the best interest of the states and the workers, we will do.
The Governor used the opportunity to call on workers in Ekiti State to embrace agriculture, adding that his administration had cleared over 2,000 hectares of land to be allocated free of charge to interested Ekiti residents.
Governor Oyebanji described civil servants as critical stakeholders in the administration of the state who represent the propelling force of the state’s machinery as well as a key factor in the power structure of the state.
