As Local Governments Grapple with Wage Woes ALGON National President Hon Maifata Highlights Fiscal Hurdles
In a candid interview on national television recently, Hon. Aminu Mu’azu Maifata, the National President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), laid bare the financial challenges local governments face in meeting the proposed N62,000 minimum wage.
“Given the current allocations from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), it’s a fiscal impossibility for any local government in Nigeria to fulfill this wage increase,” Maifata declared.
According to him, with local governments receiving just over 18% of the total FAAC distribution, compared to the federal government’s 52%, the fiscal strain is evident.
Maifata called on labour unions to acknowledge the stark financial landscape of local governments, which are already stretched thin covering essential services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
“Without additional support from federal and state tiers, committing to this new minimum wage is unsustainable,” he asserted, underscoring the need for a collaborative approach to address the wage conundrum.
“‘We need augmentation from the federal government and state governments to enable us to pay the minimum wage,’ Maifata stressed.
“We cannot afford to commit to something we cannot sustain”, he added.
