State governors have intensified their call for a review of the nation’s revenue-sharing formula if they must pay the proposed N30,000 new National Minimum Wage, The PUNCH learnt on Thursday.
Our correspondent gathered that governors renewed their demand at Thursday’s meeting of the National Economic Council held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The meeting, which was presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, resolved to refer the matter to the National Council of State for more consultations, especially with the call for a review of the revenue-sharing formula.
Recall that an extraordinary meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier on Tuesday asked the NEC to look into the controversial wage issue.
The NEC is comprised of state governors and some key Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government. It is chaired by Osinbajo.
The PUNCH gathered that at the Thursday meeting, the NEC could not finalise the matter, forcing the referral to the National Council of State.
An official privy to the NEC meeting, said, “We are making progress; we will be meeting with the Council of State on Tuesday, January 22.
“The governors are asking for a review of the revenue-sharing formula and government is looking at that.
“The Minimum Wage Technical Advisory Committee that was inaugurated recently is looking into the revenue-sharing formula.”
The source declined to offer additional details, saying the NEC did not mandate him to speak.
Under the current sharing formula, the Federal Government takes the lion’s share of 52.68 per cent from the Federation Account. The 36 states take 26.72 per cent, while the balance of 20.60 per cent is given to the 774 local governments in the country.
Over time, the formula has generated controversies and remains a key factor in the clamour for true federalism or restructuring.
The membership of the Council of State comprises the President (who is the chairman); Vice-President (who is the deputy chairman); all former Presidents/former heads of the government of the Federation; all former chief justices of Nigeria; President of the Senate; Speaker of the House of Representative; governors of the states of the Federation; and the Attorney-General of the Federation.
The council will meet on Tuesday.
Buhari, after much pressure from the organised labour ahead of the February 16 polls, lately made a commitment to a new minimum wage. The President last week inaugurated a technical committee to advise the government on how to implement the N30,000 minimum wage.
Buhari had also made public his plan to forward a bill to the National Assembly on January 23, capturing the new proposal.
This happened amid protests by the majority of governors, who had insisted that they would not offer more than N22,500.
But Labour insisted that it was either N30,000 or a nationwide strike.