The 36 state governors of Nigeria, under the aegis of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), are gathering for a critical meeting to address key issues including the National Minimum Wage and local government autonomy.
The meeting is being held at the NGF National Secretariat in Abuja.
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The primary agenda for the meeting includes discussing updates on the National Minimum Wage, as currently being debated by the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage.
Additionally, the governors will deliberate on the autonomy of local governments and the disbursement of NC-CARES funds to the states.
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This meeting comes in the wake of a legal action initiated by the federal government against the state governors over alleged misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The suit, marked SC/CV/343/2024 and filed by Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, calls for full autonomy for LGAs as the third tier of government.
The federal government is seeking a Supreme Court order to prohibit state governors from unilaterally dissolving democratically elected local government councils.
It also seeks to ensure that funds allocated to local governments are directly transferred to them from the Federation Account, bypassing the alleged unlawful joint accounts managed by governors.
Additionally, the suit aims to stop governors from appointing caretaker committees to run local governments, insisting on adherence to the constitutionally mandated democratic system.
Attendees already present at the meeting include the governors of Oyo, Zamfara, Anambra, Delta, and Gombe States, along with the deputy governors of Akwa Ibom and Borno States.
The agenda items for the meeting include the Chairman’s welcome remarks, minutes of the last meeting, matters arising, updates on local government autonomy, reconciliation of ECA, PPT & royalties accounts, debt net-off, and updates from the Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage.
The meeting will also feature presentations and program updates from the NGF Secretariat, including health and human capital development, World Bank NG-CARES, SABER, and Nigeria for Women initiatives.
This meeting underscores the critical nature of the discussions surrounding minimum wage and local government autonomy, which are pivotal to the governance and economic stability of the country.
