Some states in Nigeria have already begun paying the ₦70,000 minimum wage, DECENCY GLOBAL NEWS reports.
Recall that the Federal Government approved this new minimum wage for workers, with a commitment to review it every three years.
However, while three states have implemented the ₦70,000 minimum wage, others are still in the process of setting up implementation committees or have yet to show any commitment.
The three states currently paying the ₦70,000 minimum wage are Lagos, Edo, and Adamawa.
In Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed in April that workers had been receiving the ₦70,000 minimum wage since January.
The governor explained that employees who were previously earning a minimum wage of ₦35,000 or more have seen their salaries increase to ₦70,000 or above since the beginning of the year.
“The civil servants and all public officers in Lagos know that since January, we have continued to pay the wage allowance of a minimum of ₦35,000 over and above what they were earning before. What this means is that people earning a minimum of ₦35,000 before are now earning over ₦70,000. That is what they have been enjoying since January,” Sanwo-Olu stated.
In May, the Edo State Government began paying the new ₦70,000 minimum wage to workers in the state, fulfilling a promise made to increase the wage.
Governor Godwin Obaseki announced this wage increase during the inauguration of the Labour House in Benin City, the state capital.
He highlighted that the increase from ₦40,000 to ₦70,000 was aimed at cushioning the effects of the harsh economy on the people of the state.
In Adamawa State, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri approved the payment of the new ₦70,000 national minimum wage to civil servants in August.
This development was confirmed by Comrade Emmanuel Fashe, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), following a closed-door meeting with the governor at the state Government House.
Other states have vowed to pay the new minimum wage as soon as the implementation modalities are released by the Federal Government.
