Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has approved the sum of N77,000 as the minimum wage for the lowest worker in the state, and the payment takes immediate effect.
The decision was revealed after a meeting between Governor Abiodun, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, and the leadership of the Organized Labour in Ogun State, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC; Trade Union Congress, TUC, and the Joint Negotiating Council. JNC, to discuss the implementation of the new minimum wage.
The governor, who spoke through the SSG, said that no worker in the state should earn less than N77,000 starting from the month of October.
Abiodun said his administration meant well for the people of the state and had proactively taken steps to further ameliorate the suffering of the people.
The governor said he was in touch with the organized private sector to take a cue from the minimum wage policy, as their workers were not exempted from the economic realities in the country, to improve the living standards of people in the state holistically.
He noted that as such, the private sector should dialogue with their relevant stakeholders to arrive at a commensurate minimum wage for the sector while he would set up a monitoring team to see how it is implemented by the private sector to ensure no one is short-changed.
On his part, the State NLC chairman, Comrade Hameed Benco, said the organized labour in the state was very pleased with the governor having approved the N77,000 in consultation with labour leaders, “which today is the highest in the country.”
Benco noted that some states that had implemented the new minimum wage were paying N70,000, while some paid N70,250 or less, adding that the other sectorial salaries would be affected accordingly.
He also mentioned that the government had graciously approved the submission of labour that the new basic salary should not be taxed.
In the same vein, Comrade Akeem Lasisi of the TUC and his counterpart, Comrade Isa Olude of the JNC, commended the government for being worker-friendly, while they noted that consequential adjustments for pensioners and other matters would be announced after due consultation with the relevant stakeholders.
In his reaction, Ogun State Head of Service, Mr. Kehinde Onasanya, said the approval of the generous minimum wage for workers underscores the responsiveness and sensitivity of the governor and the government to the plight of the workers and the general populace of the state.
Onasanya expressed optimism that the gestures by the government would further boost the morale of the workers in committing themselves to the implementation of the government’s policies.
