Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has debunked reports making rounds that governors in the country are not interested in the payment of the new minimum wage, News About Nigeria reports.
While speaking to the State House correspondents on Wednesday after meeting behind closed doors with the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, at the presidential villa in Abuja, he noted that state governors are cooperating with the federal government on the issue.
Sule said that he is not aware of any state not paying the old minimum wage rate.
He maintained that Nasarawa state has been paying the N30,000 minimum wage since 2019 and has also implemented promotions, gratuities, and other benefits for workers
He also disclosed that the decision of the state and federal governments to erect military camps and construct roads in the areas considered bandit enclaves has made the criminal elements desert the state.
“We’re concerned about the welfare of the workers. In fact, we in Nasarawa state are paying some special allowances called hazard allowance, even to our medical workers, as I’m talking to you right now.
“So I don’t think governors have any problem with the payment of minimum wage. I don’t speak for the governors. Our chairman, the Governor of Kwara, actually speaks for the governors and he will do that at the right time to you.
“But it is incorrect, actually, to say that governors are not interested or are not cooperating. What the governors keep saying is that there is a committee established by the federal government to work on the minimum wage,” he stated.
The governor further stated that Nasarawa is the safest state in the country for agriculture and other activities, explaining that the success story behind the improved security situation in the state was a result of the massive construction of major roads and the establishment of a military super-camp.
