State government representatives at the recent Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC, meeting have rejected the federal government’s plan to set aside additional funds for the new minimum wage.
This decision sparked debate after it was revealed that the government had transferred N200bn into a non-savings account at the August FAAC meeting, bringing the total to N595bn.
Finance Commissioners from Akwa Ibom (Dr. Linus Noah), Delta (Okenmor Tilije), and Ekiti (Akintunde Oyebode) raised concerns about this move during the August 16, 2024, FAAC meeting according to obtained minutes.
Despite a N13bn increase in gross revenue from N2.48tn in June to N2.61tn in July, the committee allocated N1.36tn to the three tiers of government, a slight decrease from the N1.35tn shared in June.
In his opening remarks, Finance Minister Wale Edun commended President Bola Tinubu for enacting the National Minimum Wage Act, emphasizing its widespread benefits for Nigerians.
However, following a presentation on the N1.29tn gross statutory revenue and deductions, commissioners raised concerns.
Akwa Ibom’s Finance Commissioner, Linus Noah, criticized the deduction, arguing that the funds should be shared among states to alleviate their current financial struggles.
Similarly, Delta State’s Commissioner, Okenmor Tilije, opposed the idea of saving the money solely for the federal government, advocating for it to be shared to supplement the distributable allocation.
The minutes read, “The HCF, Akwa Ibom State, referred to the provision made in the month for transfer to Non-Oil Savings Account. He proposed that given the financial challenges facing the states, the amount should be used to augment the distributable revenue for the month.
“In addition, the HCF, Delta State, agreed with his counterpart from Akwa Ibom State on the need to share the N595bn in the Non-Oil Savings Account to augment the distributable revenue.”
