Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed says his administration remains committed to the payment of the N18,000 minimum wage, despite the persistent slide in revenue earnings by the state government.
Governor Ahmed gave this assurance at the Commissioning of the Auditorium Project of the Michael Imoudu National Institute of Labour Studies, Ilorin.
His words: “The state government is committed to the security and welfare of its workforce. Hence, despite the current controversy about the proposed downward review of the minimum wage to workers in Nigeria, due to dwindling monthly allocations from the federation account, occasioned by falling crude oil prices in international market. I am happy to announce that the State Government is still committed to the continued payment of the minimum wage as it is”.
Government, according to Gov. Ahmed, is also set to introduce Contributory Pension Scheme in order to guarantee that the state’s workers do not encounter post retirement pension challenges.
He said it was becoming increasingly impossible to sustain the present pension model where the state government is solely responsible for workers’ pension. According to the governor, the contributory pension scheme is result oriented and affordable as it is easy for beneficiaries to invest and get interest on their deposits.
“It is therefore necessary and in fact beneficial to adopt the more sustainable model of contributory pensions in Kwara State. This is where both employer and employee contribute certain percentages to the pension fund and this is not only affordable, but results in an increase of benefits and places beneficiaries in a better off pensions”.
The governor urged workers in the state to embrace the contributory pension model as it will be beneficial to them and help the government in the judicious management of scarce resources.
The Director-General, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Ilorin in his speech said the institute has been playing critical role in capacity development of the country’s labour force through various educative programmes.