The Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has stated that the new minimum wage for civil servants in the state is now N70,000, News About Nigeria reports.
He made this known while inaugurating the newly built ultra-modern Labour House Secretariat Complex on Monday.
The governor also named the Labour House after Adams Oshiomhole, the former governor of the state and currently a senator representing Edo North in the National Assembly.
Workers in the state had previously been paid N40,000 as the minimum wage before the governor’s announcement.
He stated that the new minimum wage will take effect on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
The official national minimum wage has been N30,000 since April 18, 2019, despite clamours from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) to increase it.
However, this sum has been described as grossly inadequate and a poverty wage in the face of the prevailing economic hardships in the country, which have been characterised by food inflation and a spike in the prices of other goods and services.
Meanwhile, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State announced that his administration had been implementing an additional N35,000 wage allowance for workers in the state since the beginning of the year.
Speaking on the impact of the wage allowance, Governor Sanwo-Olu stated that it has provided much-needed relief to workers amidst the economic challenges facing the country.
He noted that employees earning a minimum wage of N35,000 or more now receive a salary of N70,000 or above since the inception of the allowance in January.
