Checkout Magazine has learnt that 27 states and the Federal Capital Territory have yet to set up committees to implement the recently approved N70,000 minimum wage.
The states are Plateau, Kebbi, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Bayelsa, Delta, Osun, Ekiti, Zamfara, Benue, Enugu, Taraba, Gombe, Kogi, Enugu, Adamawa, Niger, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Katsina, Kaduna, Cross River and Yobe.
However, seven other states — Kano, Kwara, Ogun, Borno, Jigawa, Ondo, and Abia — have set up implementation committees. Only Lagos and Edo claimed to have started paying the minimum wage.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage into law on July 29, 2024, after meeting with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria.
Speaking with our correspondent on Saturday, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, said the state had been paying more than the minimum wage before it was passed into law.
He said, “When you look at the minimum wage that was paid in Lagos before, the least state worker earned about N77,000. So, if they said the minimum wage is now N70,000, we have no problem with it at all because Lagos has been paying more than that, and we will continue to pay.”
The Edo State Government also said it had started paying the minimum wage.
