Governors of the 36 states who met with President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said the president told them that Nigerian economy is in a bad shape.

Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Mr Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting which lasted for about 30 minutes, said after telling him of their mission, the president thanked them and said “the economy is in bad shape and that we have to come together, think and rethink on the way forward.”

NGF met Thursday night over the lingering issue of a new minimum wage for Nigerian workers and agreed to meet with Mr Buhari to tell him their position on the matter.

A tripartite committee comprising of government, labour and the private sector, headed by a former Head Of Service, Mrs Ama Pepple, has recommended the payment of N30,000 as minimum wage.

The governors have consistently said that they would not be able to pay the proposed wage in their states unless massive retrenchment is carried out or the nation’s revenue-sharing formula is changed to favour the states and local governments.

Although Yari declined to comment on what they actually discussed with Buhari regarding the minimum wage, he said the president “talked to us in a manner that we have task ahead of us, we should tighten our belt and see how we can put the Nigerian economy in the right direction.”

PT