[Nigeria] 17 Governors move to implement N70,000 minimum wage

In Nigeria, seventeen state governors have established committees to implement the new N70,000 minimum wage for workers across the country, Nigeria World reports.

Among the states taking action are Ogun, Ekiti, Sokoto, Kebbi, Osun, Enugu, Borno, Zamfara, Kogi, Kwara, Gombe, Kano, Taraba, Delta, Rivers, Jigawa, and Abia.

According to Naija News, the state governors’ support comes as the Federal Government began paying the new minimum wage to its 1.2 million workers on September 26.

The Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, reportedly said that civil servants will receive the new minimum wage starting from September.

Edo, Lagos, and Adamawa states have already started paying the new rate, while Anambra state pledged to implement the new wage by October.

Emmanuel Fashe - Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Adamawa - stated that Governor Ahmadu Fintiri had begun paying the new wage as early as August, before the Federal Government and other states.

In conversation with The PUNCH on September 29, Mr Fashe  revealed that within three weeks of President Bola Tinubu signing the new minimum wage bill into law in July, the Adamawa State government had implemented the payments.

He said that local government workers in Adamawa began receiving the new wage in September, following updates to the August payroll.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra also announced that his state will be paying the N70,000 minimum wage from October 2024.

However, an NLC official speaking with The PUNCH reportedly warned against celebrating the development since the value of the N70,000 wage has already been diminished by rising costs.

The official also asked why the new wage implementation was backdated to July instead of May, as stipulated in the 2019 Minimum Wage Act, which states the new wage should take effect immediately after the old one expires.

“The truth is this, we should not be romanticizing people who are lawbreakers. People who are lawbreakers should not be romanticised. If the Federal Government says they want to start paying, I don’t think it is something that should be celebrated. What is it that they want to start payingN N70,000 that has already been eroded by the actions and policies of the governmentN

“If you look at the price of PMS (petrol) from the time the minimum wage was signed into law and now, you could see that you could see the deliberate actions of the government to erode the minimum wage.

“A bag of rice now is almost N88,000 or thereabouts. And then it means we are saying we have a minimum wage that cannot buy a bag of rice is a shameful minimum wage. So it’s a starvation wage,” the official said.

Source: Nigeria World

(Quotes via original reporting)

In Nigeria, seventeen state governors have established committees to implement the new N70,000 minimum wage for workers across the country, Nigeria World reports.

Among the states taking action are Ogun, Ekiti, Sokoto, Kebbi, Osun, Enugu, Borno, Zamfara, Kogi, Kwara, Gombe, Kano, Taraba, Delta, Rivers, Jigawa, and Abia.

According to Naija News, the state governors’ support comes as the Federal Government began paying the new minimum wage to its 1.2 million workers on September 26.

The Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, reportedly said that civil servants will receive the new minimum wage starting from September.

Edo, Lagos, and Adamawa states have already started paying the new rate, while Anambra state pledged to implement the new wage by October.

Emmanuel Fashe - Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Adamawa - stated that Governor Ahmadu Fintiri had begun paying the new wage as early as August, before the Federal Government and other states.

In conversation with The PUNCH on September 29, Mr Fashe  revealed that within three weeks of President Bola Tinubu signing the new minimum wage bill into law in July, the Adamawa State government had implemented the payments.

He said that local government workers in Adamawa began receiving the new wage in September, following updates to the August payroll.

Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra also announced that his state will be paying the N70,000 minimum wage from October 2024.

However, an NLC official speaking with The PUNCH reportedly warned against celebrating the development since the value of the N70,000 wage has already been diminished by rising costs.

The official also asked why the new wage implementation was backdated to July instead of May, as stipulated in the 2019 Minimum Wage Act, which states the new wage should take effect immediately after the old one expires.

“The truth is this, we should not be romanticizing people who are lawbreakers. People who are lawbreakers should not be romanticised. If the Federal Government says they want to start paying, I don’t think it is something that should be celebrated. What is it that they want to start payingN N70,000 that has already been eroded by the actions and policies of the governmentN

“If you look at the price of PMS (petrol) from the time the minimum wage was signed into law and now, you could see that you could see the deliberate actions of the government to erode the minimum wage.

“A bag of rice now is almost N88,000 or thereabouts. And then it means we are saying we have a minimum wage that cannot buy a bag of rice is a shameful minimum wage. So it’s a starvation wage,” the official said.

Source: Nigeria World

(Quotes via original reporting)