Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the Labour Party’s Lagos State Governorship candidate for 2023, acknowledged that the approved N85,000 minimum wage by the Lagos State government is a positive step but stressed that it still falls short of meeting the needs of workers, News About Nigeria reports.
According to him, this is because the money cannot solve the many needs of a worker in Lagos State due to the high cost of transportation and prices of food items in the market.
Speaking in a statement shared on his official X account, the LP Chieftain opined that a minimum wage of “at least N100,000 is necessary for Lagos workers to achieve parity with their counterparts in other states.
He further noted that because Lagos is ranked the second most expensive state in Nigeria, the workers in the state need sufficient pay to survive.
The statement titled ‘A Critical Review of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s Recent Interview’ reads, “After watching Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s full interview on Channels TV, a few key points demand closer scrutiny: While the recent increase in the minimum wage to N85,000 is a step in the right direction, it’s important to note that this amount falls significantly short of addressing the unique cost-of-living challenges faced by Lagos workers. The city has the highest intra-city public transportation costs in Nigeria, particularly for motorcycle rides, a common mode of transport across several states in the country.
“Lagos also ranks second nationally in the average cost of a healthy diet, making it the second most expensive city in the country to feed. Excluding Abuja, Lagos has the highest rental costs in the country, with meagre investments in social housing programmes and rent control policies. Given these factors, a minimum wage of at least N100,000 is necessary for Lagos workers to achieve parity with their counterparts in other states.”
