Seventeen state governors have raised committees to implement the N70,000 new minimum wage for workers across the country.

The 17 states which set up the implementation committees are Ogun, Ekiti, Sokoto, Kebbi, Osun, Enugu, Borno, Zamfara, Kogi, Kwara, Gombe, Kano, Taraba, Delta, Rivers, Jigawa and Abia.

The development is happening as the Federal Government commenced payment of the new minimum wage to its 1.2 million workers last Thursday.

The Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, in a memo to the Budget Office of the Federation, noted that the civil servants would be paid the minimum wage with effect from September.

On the heels of this, Edo, Lagos, Adamawa states have also commenced payment of the new salary as Anambra pledged to implement the minimum wage in October.

The Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Adamawa state, Emmanuel Fashe, confirmed that Governor Ahmadu Fintiri started paying the new minimum wage in August ahead of the Federal Government and other states.

Fashe who spoke to The PUNCH on Sunday, said that in less than three weeks after President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage bill into law in July, the Adamawa state government commenced payment in August.

He said the state workers got their August salaries but the local government workers received their new minimum wage in September.

Fashe, who blamed the delayed council workers’ salaries payment on the new minimum wage, said that the 2019 consequential adjustment template had to be used to calculate the new wage percentages, and the Accountant General’s office had to update the August payroll.

During the 2024 May Day celebration, the governor had promised to pay any amount the Federal Government agreed with the NLC.

 In Anambra, Governor Chukwuma Soludo disclosed that the state will commence the payment of the N70,000 minimum wage from October 2024.

 Soludo announced this at the Prof. Dora Akunyili Women’s Development Centre in Awka, on Thursday, while meeting with all principals and head teachers in public primary and secondary schools across the state.

 He said, “From next month, we hope to start paying the new minimum wage of N70,000. Also, from next week, a free education policy will be available to senior students in all public schools in Anambra. Students in senior classes who have already paid their N5,000 fees for this term should be refunded and we promise to do more in human development.

“I assure you that in spite of the binding resource constraint, my administration will continue to work round the clock, to deliver on its mandate. We inherited arrears of pensions and gratuities. We will soon complete the payments. Anyone who retires under my watch usually gets their entitlements after successful documentation.

“Though I have approval to borrow 100 billion naira since I came in, we haven’t borrowed. This is because we don’t want to encumber the future. I will borrow to build capacity for the future. Under my watch, we are going to maintain fiscal sustainability.”

But speaking with The PUNCH, a senior NLC official said the value of the new minimum wage had been eroded, noting that the implementation of the new salary structure should not be romanticised.

“The truth is this, we should not be romanticizing people who are lawbreakers. People who are lawbreakers should not be romanticised. If the Federal Government says they want to start paying, I don’t think it is something that should be celebrated. What is it that they want to start paying? N70,000 that has already been eroded by the actions and policies of the government?

“If you look at the price of PMS (petrol) from the time the minimum wage was signed into law and now, you could see that you could see the deliberate actions of the government to erode the minimum wage.

“A bag of rice now is almost N88,000 or thereabouts. And then it means we are saying we have a minimum wage that cannot buy a bag of rice is a shameful minimum wage. So it’s a starvation wage,” he stated.

He queried the decision of the government to backdate the new wage implementation to July instead of May.

“The 2019 Minimum Wage Act states the new wage takes effect when the old one expires. If payments start in July, shouldn’t Nigerians question why?

“Why do you want to start paying July when the 2019 Minimum Wage Act stipulates that the new minimum wage will take effect from the day that one expires,” he questioned.

The fact is clear that the 2024 National Minimum Wage Act amended only two clauses in the old Minimum Wage Act. State governors that say they can’t pay their state workers the new minimum wage of N70,000 should go and hide their faces, and their heads in shame because any state governor that opens his mouth and says they can’t pay, that state governor is saying, I want to break the law. That state governor is saying, I want to be lawless. That state governor is saying, I want to disobey the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,’’ the official further argued.

The Imo State NLC Chairman, Uche Chigamezu, said the state government has shown commitment to pay the N70,000 minimum wage.

Speaking to The PUNCH, Chigamezu said, “We have received the template for the payment of minimum wage from the national secretariat. We are ready to open discussion with the Government on the way forward.

The Government of Senator Hope Uzodimma has assured the organized Labour of his willingness to pay the minimum wage. Having received the template yesterday night, we have instructed the secretary to write the the governor. The national body has said that each state must negotiate with the Government to get a fine agreement.”

“By next week, discussion on the minimum wage with the government will start and we are sure that the meeting will be fruitful.”

Similarly, the Nasarawa State Government has expressed readiness to pay the new minimum wage.

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Abdullahi Sule on Public Affairs, Peter Ahemba, asserted that Sule was committed to the welfare of workers in the state, adding that the governor had long decided to go emulate the Federal Government on matters concerning the new minimum wage.

He said, “On the new minimum wage, the Nasarawa State government has decided to follow the Federal Government’s decision on the matter, so we are waiting patiently for them.

“Governor Abdullahi Sule does not joke with the welfare of workers in the state, So I can assure you that he will do what is right for them.”

On its part, the Ogun State government said it was awaiting the report of its committee on the new wage.

The Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to Gov Dapo Abiodun, Mr Kayode Akinmade, stated, “The government is still awaiting the report of the committee set up on the implementation of the new minimum wage and it should also be noted that about two weeks ago, the governor said that the state won’t be the second to pay the new minimum wage, so no cause for alarm”.

Ekiti State Commissioner for Information, Taiwo Olatunbosun, explained that workers in the state would be well taken care of, when asked about the implementation of the new minimum wage.

The commissioner, who did not disclose whether the state would pay the minimum wage or not, said the outcome of the ongoing negotiation by the committee set up by the state government was being awaited.

Olatunbosun said, “A committee has been set up by the state government and deliberation is ongoing. I don’t want to pre-empt the outcome of their decision, but I can assure you that there is no problem and the interest of our workers will be well taken care of.”

The Ondo State government has declared its readiness to the amount to its workers.

The state governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Ebenezer Adeniyan, said the government would soon begin paying the new minimum wage, but the law, he noted, has to be domesticated and the implementation structured.

He said, “We will soon begin to pay the minimum wage to workers but not starting this month because we have to domesticate the law and do the structure of implementation.”

Osun State Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kolapo Alimi, disclosed that the committee working on the modalities for the implementation of the new minimum wage was yet to complete its assignment.

“A committee working on the modalities for the implementation of the new minimum wage is yet to complete its assignment. But while expecting the committee to submit its report, Osun has extended payment of palliatives to workers by two months.

We have also reduced the number of days they are required to work just to reduce the amount being paid for transportation. Our governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has given his word that the state would pay its workers the new minimum wage,” Alimi said.

However, Delta and Bayelsa states have yet to address the issues surrounding the payment of the new minimum wage.

Governor Sheriff Oborevwori had said the state government was waiting for the new minimum wage chart.

Oborevwori disclosed this last Tuesday while addressing staff of the State House of Assembly during the retirement thanksgiving in honour of the immediate past Clerk of the Assembly and now Principal Secretary to the Governor, Mrs Lyna Ocholor.

The governor said the state was taking its time to avoid making mistakes.

Oborevwori said, “We are waiting for the chart of the new minimum wage because we don’t want to make any mistakes.”

Bayelsa Governor, Douye Diri, said he would set up a committee on the new minimum wage but nothing new has been said so far about it.

In Benue, workers are still waiting with bated breath as the state government has not indicated when the new wage will be paid.

Though Governor Hyacinth Alia has consistently promised to pay the N70,000 minimum wage, our correspondent learnt that he has yet to set up the implementation committee.

When contacted on Sunday, the Technical Adviser to the governor on Publicity and Strategy, Solomon Iorpev, asked for time to find out but he has yet to provide any information as of the time of filing this report.

Conversely, the governments of Sokoto and Kebbi states have assured their workers of their readiness to pay the new minimum wage soonest.

Sokoto state governor, Ahmed Aliyu, in a recent engagement, said this administration is working towards implementation of the new national minimum wage.

Confirming the state’s plan to pay the new wage, the Chief Press Secretary to the Kebbi state, Ahmed Idris, explained that the government is working on it.

“We are already working on the implementation of the new national minimum wage. I can assure you that our workers in the state will soon smile with the implementation,’’ he affirmed.

The Enugu State government is waiting for the report of a committee overseeing the implementation of the New National Minimum Wage in the state.

Speaking with one of our correspondents on Thursday, the Special Adviser to the governor on Media, Mr Dan Nwaome, said, “The government is waiting for the minimum wage implementation Committee report.”

Governor Peter Mbah had maintained that the wage award the government introduced to cushion the effect of the devastating consequences of naira devaluation and high rate of inflation will continue to be paid until the committee on minimum wage submitted its report.

While inaugurating the committee on August 29, Mbah gave the committee a maximum of one month to submit its report.

The PUNCH gathered that the Zamfara state government has set up a committee on the implementation of the new minimum wage.

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Dauda Lawal on Media and Communications, Mustafa Kaura, said the state government would implement the new wage as soon as the committee submitted its report.

He stated, “The state government has already set up a committee to work out modalities for the implementation of the new minimum wage of N70,000.

“As soon as the committee finished its assignment, Governor Dauda Lawal would be among the Governors in the country to implement the new wage. When he assumed office as the governor of the state, the state’s civil servants were on N18,000 as minimum wage. He quickly directed the state’s ministry of finance to start implementing the N30,000 minimum wage which was done. So I am assuring you that the governor will soon implement the new minimum wage for N70,000.”

Like its Zamfara counterpart, the Kogi state government has equally set up the minimum wage implementation committee.

The committee set up last week has the deputy governor, Joel Salifu, as the chairman.

However, the Commissioner for Finance, Ashiru Idris and the Information Commissioner, Kingsley Fanwo, could not be reached for comments for an update.

The payment of the new wage has not commenced in Kwara State, but there are indications the government may start the implementation in September.

Although there is no official confirmation yet on the implementation, the state governor, Mallam AbdulRaman AbdulRazaq, recently set up an 18-member committee comprising government officials, labour leaders and captains of industries to work out the consequential adjustment on the new salary structure.

Chairman of the state chapter of the NLC, Muritala Olayinka, who is a member of the committee, said that the committee had yet to submit its report.

He said, “Although the workers got a hint that the state government would start the payment of the new minimum wage with effect from this month (September), none of the workers have received it. The government has started paying the local government workers salary for this month but the state workers are yet to receive their salary while the salary paid has not reflected the new salary.”

Chief Press secretary to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, noted that the committee on consequential adjustment has not submitted its report to the governor, adding, “I don’t want to pre-empt the work of the committee on the implementation of the new minimum wage.”

The Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor of Gombe State; Wilson Jonah, explained that the committee on the minimum wage chaired by Deputy Governor Manassah Jatau, is still awaiting the consequential adjustment table from the Federal Government.

He said, “The state is still awaiting the consequential adjustment table from the Federal Government for implementation.”

In Kaduna, the state government has yet to initiate negotiations on the implementation of the new N70,000 minimum wage for workers, according to the NLC chairman in the state, Suleiman Ayuba.

“We have officially written to the state government requesting the set up of a committee to discuss the new minimum wage, but we are still awaiting their response,” Ayuba told our correspondent.

Ayuba revealed that the NLC had submitted its proposal to the government, emphasizing the need for a timely response.

“We expect the government to respond promptly, considering the current economic realities. The N70,000 minimum wage is long overdue, and workers are anxious to benefit from it,” he said.

The situation is the same in Kano State where the state government is awaiting the report of the State Advisory Committee on the new national minimum wage.

Governor Abba Yusuf had on July 30 inaugurated the committee just 48 hours after President Bola Tinubu approved the N70,000 minimum wage as agreed with the organised labour.

In an interview with one of our correspondents, the Commissioner of Information and Internal Affairs, Baba Dantiye, revealed that the committee had concluded its assignment and would submit its report after the Independence Day celebrations.

 “The members of the committee were all in Kaduna where they met and finalise their assignment,” he said.

According to him, the state government is expected to announce the new minimum wage after getting the committee report.

Also, the Taraba State Government has instituted a committee tasked with the implementation of the new minimum wage in the state.

The committee, headed by the State Head of Service, Mr. Tino Maigida, includes leaders of organized labour and other top government officials.

Punch