Nigeria, July 20 -- The Borno State Government has cited significant staffing issues as a major obstacle to implementing the N70,000 minimum wage for local government employees.

During a recent meeting at the Government House in Maiduguri, Modu Alhaji Mustapha, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, explained that the high number of employees within the local councils is complicating the financial management required to support the wage increase.

Mustapha reported that the state's 27 Local Government Areas (LGAs) currently employ around 90,000 staff-far more than the approximately 30,000 employees across 44 LGAs in Kano, which has a population three times larger than Borno's.

He noted, "While ...