On Monday, the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) kicked against the federal government’s proposed N62,000 new minimum wage.
News About Nigeria reports that this, according to ALGON, is because the council cannot afford to pay the proposed N62,000 new minimum wage due to the meagre allocation coming from the federation account to it.
This was made known by the National President of ALGON, Alhaji Aminu Muazu-Maifata, in an interview with newsmen in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital.
According to the ALGON president, they cannot go with the FG’s proposed minimum wage because all 774 local government councils in the country get allocations of a little above 18 percent from the Federation Account monthly and it will not be enough to pay the new minimum wage.
He further lamented the fact that aside from the payment of wages, the council still has other responsibilities to handle with the meagre allocation they get.
He said, “Apart from the payment of wages, we still have other responsibilities, such as the provision of affordable healthcare, education, security, traditional institutions, rural roads, as well as youths and women’s empowerment, among others, to contend with.”
Muazu-Maifata, however, noted that the council chairmen were in support of wage increments for civil servants, but the revenue coming to the local government is small.
He, therefore, appealed for an increase in the monthly allocations of the 774 LGAs in the country to enable them to pay the proposed minimum wage.
“I want to appeal for increased allocations to local governments in Nigeria. ALGON has a lot of responsibilities to meet up with the N62,000 minimum wage. We will also give priority to issues of security at the local level and attract interventions from development partners to our various councils.”
