The National President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Alhaji Haruna Kankara, has revealed that about 20 states are yet to implement the N70,000 new minimum wage for local government workers and primary school teachers.
Defaulting States:
- Northwest: Sokoto, Zamfara, Kaduna
- Northeast: Yobe, Gombe, Borno
- South-South: Cross River
- Southeast: Imo, Ebonyi
- Federal Capital Territory: Abuja
Some states have commenced paying state workers but excluded local government workers and primary school teachers. Kankara stated, “We truly have the challenge of so many states, like about 20 that have not started implementing the new minimum wage.” He added that some states promised but failed to fulfil their promises, saying, “We are hoping that just very soon all of these would have been resolved”
Implementation Challenges
Taxation Issues: In Kwara State, despite implementing the N70,000 minimum wage, heavy taxes imposed by the government have reduced workers’ take-home pay. NULGE’s state president, Seun Oyinlade, disclosed, “The heavy taxes imposed by the state government have greatly affected the take-home pay”.
Delayed Payments: Some teachers have yet to receive the N30,000 minimum wage of 2019. States owing teachers include Zamfara, Yobe, Taraba, Sokoto, Niger, Kogi, Kaduna, Imo, Gombe, Cross River, Borno, Benue, Adamawa, and Abia.
States That Have Implemented the New Minimum Wage
Lagos, Rivers, Bayelsa, Niger, Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Abia, Adamawa, Anambra, Jigawa, Ogun, Kebbi, Ondo, Kogi.
President Bola Tinubu signed the N70,000 minimum wage bill into law on July 29, 2024. NULGE is pushing for the Central Bank of Nigeria to issue a circular allowing local governments to open bank accounts, a crucial step towards autonomy.
In January, Organised Labour warned state governments and private employers to implement the new national minimum wage of ₦70,000, along with the consequential salary adjustments, by the end of the first quarter of 2025 or face serious consequences.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) said it is unacceptable for some states and organisations, who know the current realities of the Nigerian economy to insist on paying peanuts to workers, knowing fully well that the wage cannot take workers home.
The President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, who is also the National Internal Auditor of the NLC, issued the warning during the union’s National Leadership Retreat in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ibrahim stressed that state governments and institutions delaying or manipulating wage payments would face severe repercussions.
