Ogun state: Why we can’t pay N18,000 minimum wage - Amosun

[emezico]

The Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, said the state cannot afford to pay the N18,000 minimum wage, due to the bad financial position of the state.

Amosun disclosed this to the state traditional rulers at the Governor's Office in Abeokuta, adding that financial status of the state is bad, which was caused by the immediate administration.

The governor said the state remained the most indebted in the country, adding that audit consultants were looking into the financial statements of the state from May 2003 to 2011.

Amosun said the state would access a loan to the tune of N4 billion from a bank to pay workers' salaries for June, adding that if the state had to pay the approved minimum wage of N18,000, it would need to borrow N6 billion.

He promised not to probe his predecessor in office, saying that he would use his time to re-build the state instead of chasing shadow.

"I am not interested in any probe. I don't want to use my good time to chase what I know is bad. They said they left N50 billion. They are looking into our debt, but at the appropriate time, we will tell you what we met on the ground," the governor said.