Governors from the southern part of Nigeria under the aegis of the Southern Governors’ Forum have called for the consideration of the cost of living and ability of each state to pay the new minimum wage.

The governors also advocated that each state be allowed to negotiate the new wage with the labour unions.

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of their meeting in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Monday, June 24, 2024.

The communique read in part.: “The Forum discussed the minimum wage issues demanded by labour and unanimously agreed that the minimum wage should be reflective of the cost of living and that each state should be allowed to negotiate its minimum wage. This led to the forum’s discussion on fiscal federalism and devolution of powers.

“Southern Governors resolved to continue to advocate for the creation of state police against the success of community-based regional security outfits that have significantly helped intelligence gathering. It is believed that this will enable Governors to be Chief Security Officers indeed.”

The southern governors further expressed concern over current practices where mineral licenses are issued and explorations undertaken without recourse to state governments.

Southern governors target 90,000MW to end poor power supply

They noted that issuing mineral licenses without carrying the states along has resulted in criminal activities, attendant negative environmental impact, ecological degradation, and no remediation commitment or revenue accruing to the states or the federal government.

The governors maintained that being the economic and industrial region of the country, there was a need to address the inadequate power supply in the region by taking advantage of the recent constitutional amendment that now allows states to regulate, generate, transmit and distribute electricity whilst also considering optional sources like renewables.

The southern governors said they have resolved to aggressively embark on energy transition plan from fossil fuels (petrol and diesel) to cleaner energy and specifically CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) and ultimately EV’s (Electric Vehicles) to help reduce the cost of transportation, which would lower the cost of food, goods and services of the citizens and residents.

They also called on the federal government to rehabilitate, repair and reconstruct Trunk A roads and transfer some roads to states that have expressed interest in taking them over.

The governors, however, commended President Bola Tinubu for conceptualising and commencing the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which cuts across eight states of the region.

The governors disclosed that they have resolved to commission a regional multimodal transport master plan that would prioritise connectivity of rail, road, air and water transportation, to facilitate interstate, intra-regional movement of persons, goods and services and thereby enhancing the ease of doing business.

They stated that the Southern States Development Agenda (SSDA) comprising a team whose primary responsibility is to outline a holistic plan to foster trade and investment, sustainable growth and development, economic prosperity, social harmony, and food security for the region would be set up.

The SSDA, the southern governors said, would work with individual State Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agencies, the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), and other relevant MDAs and multilateral agencies.

The Star