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Minimum wage: You’ll benefit more, if you start your own business – Zamfara Governor tells workers

Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, has hinted that the state government cannot pay the new minimum wage.

He said his government is currently grappling with monthly deductions for debt servicing inherited from the past administration, payment of salaries and running of the government.

Matawalle spoke on Friday when he hosted executive members of the 36 labour unions under the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to the breaking of the Ramadan fast at his Gusau residence.

The new minimum wage bill was signed into law in April 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari. The law stipulates an increase from N18,500 to N30,000 as minimum wage in Nigeria.

The governor said; “Zamfara, which is one of the least collectors of monthly federal allocation has over ₦1.6 billion deducted from source to service the debts it inherited from the past administration.

“Every month, the state is left with between ₦1.8 billion and ₦1.3 billion to pay salaries to its over 28,000 workers as well as to execute government’s activities.”

He, however, said, he would implement the new minimum wage as soon as there is an improvement and called for more understanding from the workers.

The governor also urged the workers to start their own businesses which they can fall back on after retirement.

“l can assure you that if you start your own business, you will gain experience and be well established before you retire.

“The state government will register and issue certificates on all public and private landed properties which can be used to secure bank loans for interested workers with the backing of the government,” he said.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, has said that the sale of the Federal government’s properties to fund the 2021 budget will benefit Nigerians and help to boost the economy.

Ahmed said this when she appeared on Channels TV on Friday morning January 22.

Recall that on January 12 during the budget presentation, Ahmed revealed that the Federal government will be selling off some of its assets and use the funds generated to fund the deficit in the 2021 budget. Read here.

In her chat with Channels TV, Ahmed said a lot of government assets are currently moribund and provide little or no value to Nigerians in their current state.

“There are some government assets that are dead that can be sold to the private sector to be reactivated and put to use for the benefit of Nigerians.

So we are looking at different categories of government assets that government has not been able to manage, that are lying down and in some cases even completely rundown, to cede them off to the private sector.”she said

She said the Bureau of Public Enterprises will in the first quarter of this year begin to coordinate with other arms of government on the asset sales.