By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Umo Eno, has announced that the State Government will pay a new minimum wage of N80,000 for all state government employees.
This is contained in a press release signed by the Commissioner for Information, Mr Ini Ememobong on Wednesday.
“To ensure a smooth rollout of this policy, the governor has also constituted an implementation committee, which has been given one month to deliver its report on how the wage increase will be executed,” the statement added.
The committee, chaired by the Head of the Civil Service, includes the following as members:
“This announcement is reflective of the state government’s commitment to improving the welfare of its workforce,” it concluded.
This comes three months after President Bola Tinubu approved an increase in the minimum wage for Nigerian workers from N30,000 to N70,000.
However, the implementation across states has been gradual, with some still yet to adopt the new minimum wage.
While a number of states have pledged to meet the N70,000 minimum wage, others have gone further, committing to pay amounts higher than the federal mandate.
The Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on October 16, announced a new minimum wage of N85,000 for the state’s civil servants and said he hopes to increase it to N100,000 by January 2025.
Governor Lucky Ayeditiwa of Ondo State pledged to pay N73,000 while his counterpart in Ekiti State, Mr Biodun Oyebanji of Ekiti State on October 12 said workers in the state service would be paid the N70,000 new minimum wage while consequential adjustment would be added to pensions.