Minimum wage: Heed FG’s warning on IGR, Babalakin to governor’s – elect


As Nigerian workers expect the implementation of N30, 000 new minimum wages, a legal giant and Chairman, re- negotiating committee between the federal government and academic staff union of universities (ASSU), on the 2009 agreement, Mr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), has admonished state governors to heed federal government’s directive to improve their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for effective implementation of the new minimum wage.

He spoke to journalists in Ilorin on the sideline of the University of Ilorin third annual registry lecture series titled “Public Service Rules and University Administration: Re-Engineering for Excellence”.

The lecture also coincided with one year anniversary in office of the appointment of Dr. Fola Olowolene as the registrar of the university.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had at the induction for governors- elect and farewell to some governors, asked the governors- elect and government institutions to effectively collect VATs and improve on their IGR.

Speaking at the side line of the Unilorin lecture series, the legal giant ,asked the governor’s to face the reality of times and think of how to shore up their IGR withn out placing tax burdens on citizens.

Babalakin,  who is the pro-chancellor and chairman of council, University of Lagos, said the federal government has told them the “truth “by declaring that there will be no largesse to distribute.

Babalakin had during his remarks at the lecture series said “unless various arms of governments becomes very creative in creating Wealth, the effects of the new minimum wage will be a strain on the financial position of these institutions.”

Speaking further, he said the old notion that Nigeria was a rich country was no longer tenable, saying: ‘‘leaders have warned that Nigeria will become the poverty capital of the world’’ if something was not done to create wealth .   

“The 70s when somebody said, the problem of Nigeria is not money but how to spend it, are gone .The problem of Nigeria today is how to create wealth, the money is there but you have to create wealth.

“The new governors, If they don’t know that their first job is to create money, they won’t succeed. The federal government has said that that you need to increase your IGR because if you expect that you will just sit down and expect that the federal government will share money, you won’t succeed, you need to create wealth.

‘‘How I wish they should have told them this before now, I am sure many of them will not contests’’, he said.

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