By Jane Adams
The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Osun says it is optimistic that the state government will pay the new approved National Minimum Wage when President Muhammadu Buhari assents to the bill.
The Osun Chairman of NLC, Mr Jacob Adekomi, expressed the optimism in an interview with Daybreak.ng on Wednesday in Oshogbo.
He was reacting to the recent approval of N30,000 as the new national minimum wage by the Senate on Tuesday.
Adekomi appreciated the National Assembly for approving the minimum wage, saying it was a welcome development but long overdue.
He said the issue of non-payment or inability of state government to pay the minimum wage did not arise because the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr Babatunde Fowler, had explained before the Senate how government would source for funds to pay workers.
According to him, Fowler says there will be revenue increment in tax for them to be able to pay and that means revenue accrued to states would also increase.
“If there is increment in tax payable by the masses, that will result in increment in the allocations that will be coming to the states.
“With that, if governors get their priorities right, no governor should complain about inability to pay,’’ he said.
Adekomi added that in spite of the shortfall in allocation coming to Osun, he was optimistic that the state government would be able to pay the minimum wage.
He said that government at the top level would have factored in states servicing debts before approving the minimum wage.
