The Borno State Government has given reasons why it seems impossible to pay Local Government workers in the state N70,000 minimum wage.
Speaking during a high-level meeting held at the Government House in Maiduguri on Saturday night, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Modu Alhaji Mustapha, said implementing the minimum wage for local government staff has been stalled due to the over-bloated number of employees.
According to the Permanent Secretary, Borno’s local government councils are grappling with an unusually high number of staff, which is complicating the payroll and minimum wage administration.
He revealed that the state’s 27 LGAs collectively employ approximately 90,000 staff, which is strikingly high compared to larger states like Kano, whose population is three times more than Borno’s but maintains a comparatively leaner staff structure of about 30,000 employees across its 44 LGAs.
He said, “While the intention behind the minimum wage increase is laudable, the reality on ground in Borno is far more complex.”
“Our local governments are already over-stretched, and the current staff level has become an obstacle towards implementing the 70,000 minimum wage.
“To put this into perspective, let us take Maiduguri Metropolitan Council for example, its monthly allocation from the Federal Government sometimes stood below N700m.
“While this may seem substantial at a glance, the local government needs N778m to pay minimum wage.
“This constitutes the entire monthly income of the LGA. When you consider that the MMC also has to fund other critical services such as public health, water supply, security, and other sectors, the financial strain becomes glaringly apparent,” Mustapha explained.
Meanwhile, the Governor of the state, Babagana Zulum, while addressing the 27 local government chairmen, directed them to go back to their localities, engage with relevant stakeholders and come up with a workable solution to the salary problem at the local government levels.
“All local government chairpersons should go back to their localities, engage with relevant stakeholders and come up with a workable solution to the salary problem at the local government levels.
“I want to stress that the payment of 72,000 minimum wage has been fully implemented for state civil servants and all primary school teachers in Borno,” Zulum added.
The governor also warned against retrenchment of staff at the local government level, stating, “We are not in support of staff retrenchment at the local government level as I direct you to institute a mechanism that will lead to the implementation of the minimum wage.”
He, however, appealed to workers at the local government level to be patient.
“We are working closely with the 27 local governments to ensure the implementation of the minimum wage,” Zulum assured.
