Another Nigerian governor announces new minimum wage

Governor Bassey Otu of Cross Rivers State has announced N40,000 arsenic the caller minimum wage for civilian servants successful the state.

He made the announcement connected Wednesday astatine U. J. Esuene Stadium successful Calabar, wherever helium joined the 2024 Workers Day Celebration, the spokesperson to the governor, Nsa Gill said successful a statement.

According to the statement, Mr Otu said the caller minimum wage aligns with “the realities of the clip alternatively than sentiments”.

“Owing to the peculiarity of Cross River State regarding its thin finances occasioned by debased Statutory Federal Allocation and aggravated by the unfavourable State GDP to Debt servicing ratio, the caller wage implementation is successful enactment with the realities of the clip alternatively than sentiments.”

The politician appealed to the workers to workout patience regarding the backlog of gratuities dating backmost to 2014.

“Government is presently connected the verge of concluding indispensable arrangements for the staggered outgo of outstanding gratuity to its retired workers.

“Accordingly, immoderate enactment aimed astatine alleviating the suffering of the workers is readily embraced by me. One of specified measures is the outgo of a surviving wage to the workforce.

“May I, therefore, authorities categorically that the authorities of Cross River State, nether my leadership, is consenting and acceptable to enactment smiles connected the faces of its workers and successful enactment with the play of sweetness which characterises my administration,” the politician said.

Minimum wage

With the announcement, Mr Otu has go the 2nd South-south authorities politician to unilaterally denote a caller minimum wage amidst ongoing negotiations betwixt the national authorities and labour unions connected a caller nationalist minimum wage.

PREMIUM TIMES reported however Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State announced N70,000 arsenic the caller minimum wage for civilian servants successful the state.

President Bola Tinubu successful January constituted a 37-man National Minimum Wage Committee with the mandate to urge a caller minimum wage for workers successful the country.

The committee which had collated inputs crossed the six geopolitical zones successful the state during its nationalist proceeding is yet to taxable a study for the national government.

Consequently, Mr Tinubu did not denote a caller nationalist minimum connected 1 May arsenic anticipated.

Nigeria’s instrumentality allows the minimum wage to beryllium reviewed each 5 years. The existent N30,000 was past reviewed successful 2019 and a caller minimum was expected to instrumentality effect from 1 April.

But immoderate governors unilaterally announcing a caller minimum wage for civilian servants successful their states without waiting for the result of the nationalist minimum wage committee suggests they whitethorn person opted retired of immoderate anticipated proposal of the committee.