State governors
hold closed-door meeting over minimum wage, planned nationwide protest, other issues
Story from Uji A. ILIYASU
All the 36 state governors of the federation convened a meeting in Abuja, the nation’s capital, on Wednesday to discuss the national minimum wage, issues in the local government autonomy, and the upcoming nationwide youth protest billed to hold on 1 Aug.
United under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the meeting was held at the forum’s secretariat in the FCT.
Most of the governors were present at the meeting, while others sent their representatives.
The agenda of the meeting was not disclosed but it was not unconnected with the promise the governors had made on the issue of national minimum wage.
The governors at their previous meeting had promised to give Nigerian workers a fair minimum wage, so Wednesday’s meeting was the first public meeting of the forum since President Bola Tinubu approved a N70,000 minimum wage for Nigerian workers.
READ ALSO: Governors promise better minimum wage offer after rejecting N62,000
As a forum, the governors also discussed the raging debate about the planned nationwide protest against bad governance as well as the recent Supreme Court judgement on local government autonomy.
The most pressing issue within government circles now is the planned nationwide protest against economic hardship in Nigeria, which has been trending on social media.
The protest is scheduled to hold on 1 Aug. 2024, and is being organised by various interest groups and individuals to express dissatisfaction with the current economic hardship and living conditions in the country.
Proofreading, editing by Uji A. Iliyasu, Editor at Neptune Prime