N70K Minimum Wage: Confusion as Nigerian Governor Reacts to Purported Approval, Details Emerge

Legit.ng journalist, Ridwan Adeola Yusuf, has over 9 years of experience covering politics and governance in Nigeria.

Dutse, Jigawa state - Civil servants in Jigawa state have been thrown into confusion after the governor of the state, Umar Namadi, denied approving the N70,000 minimum wage.

The purported approval was said to have been announced on Thursday, October 10, by Ado Kazaure, Namadi's senior apecial adviser on salary and pension.

However, civil servants in the state were disappointed when an audio message, purportedly from Kazaure, retracted and denied the governor’s approval.

The Nigerian Tribune reported on Friday, October 11, that when it contacted Kazaure to authenticate the audio clip, he confirmed its genuineness.

Read also

Minimum wage: Borno gov approves payment of N70,000, discloses when workers will receive alert

Minimum wage: Jigawa workers unhappy

Meanwhile, some civil servant expressed their disappointment with the new twist, with accusations of deceit levelled against the Namadi-led administration.

Legit.ng reports that wages have become the top issue for Nigeria’s organised labour movements in the past year.

As a result of the recent hike in the cost of living, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had called for an upward review of the national minimum wage.

Subsequently, in July, the federal government reached an agreement with labour unions. The new minimum monthly wage was set at N70,000.

However, despite federal lawmakers assenting to it and President Bola Tinubu signing it into law, Jigawa and several other states have not started implementing the new minimum wage.

Source: Legit.ng