20 Nigerian Governors Under Fire Over N70k Minimum Wage
- The president of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Alhaji Haruna Kankara, noted that about 20 states are yet to implement the N70,000 new minimum wage
- The NULGE leader disclosed this in response to questions related to the implementation of the new minimum wage concerning the LG workers and primary school teachers in the country
- Legit.ng reports that the minimum wage is important because it protects workers from unduly low pay and ensures a basic standard of living
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics and governance.
FCT, Abuja - Haruna Kankara, the national president of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), has said about 20 states have yet to implement the N70,000 new minimum wage for primary school teachers and local government workers.
As reported by The Punch on Monday, April 7, the states include Yobe, Ebonyi, Cross River, Gombe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Imo, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Borno, and 11 others.
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Giving an update on the implementation of the National Minimum Wage Act, Kankara said:
“We truly have the challenge of so many states, like about 20 that have not started implementing the new minimum wage.
“We have states like Sokoto, Yobe, Gombe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Imo, Ebonyi, Borno, Cross Rivers, FCT Abuja, among others. Some have started paying the state workers leaving out the local government workers and primary school teachers but we have continued to engage and plead with them to do the needful for these workers.
“Some of them promised but failed to fulfill their promise but we are hoping that just very soon all of these would have been resolved.”
Some states yet to implement the N70,000 new minimum wage for primary school teachers and local government workers are:
- Yobe
- Ebonyi
- Cross River
- Gombe
- Zamfara
- Kaduna
- Imo
- Borno
'LGs can pay N70k minimum wages'
Meanwhile, Olajumoke Shaqiru Victor, the lawmaker representing Ward 13 at the Abeokuta South local government in Ogun state, expressed optimism that the 774 local governments in Nigeria should be able to pay the N70,000 minimum wage once they start receiving their allocation from the federal account directly.
Victor expressed the view while speaking in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng. He maintained that the local government's internally generated revenue would boost the resources of the council to enable them to pay the minimum wage.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain expressed the belief that the local governments in Nigeria would be able to pay the new minimum wage if they got their allocations from the federal government, coupled with the revenue they generated.
Minimum wage: Obasanjo talks down N70K pay
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that former President Olusegun Obasanjo criticised the N70,000 new minimum wage approved for workers by President Bola Tinubu.
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Obasanjo described the new minimum pay as grossly inadequate to cover workers’ basic needs, including transportation, food, and housing.
In Chapter 17 of his newly-released book, Obasanjo accused labour leaders of betraying workers by allegedly prioritising personal interests over collective welfare.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at Legit.ng.
