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The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has declared that state governments have no justification for failing to pay civil servants at least ₦70,000 as minimum wage, given the surging cost of living and its harsh effects on Nigerians.
NECA’s Director-General, Adewale Smatt-Oyerinde, made this known on Tuesday, September 2, stressing that the recent boost in allocations from the Federation Account had weakened claims by some states that they lack the capacity to meet the new wage benchmark.
“So, no state really has an excuse in the context of the current reality to stay at that ₦70,000, especially with people struggling with the price of petrol. While many states are still doing a lot with the CNG buses, we think more still needs to be done,” Smatt-Oyerinde said.
“A lot still needs to be done with the context of food security and shelter. Once you deal with that, the conversation would not really be about minimum wage because the quantum of that ₦70,000 will be able to buy enough for an average household. So it’s not about the quantum, it’s about what exactly the ₦70,000 can buy.”
He noted that initiatives designed to ease the hardship faced by workers, who are central to driving the economy, would ultimately enhance their productivity.
“While we are not directly involved in the core, the real dynamics of the statem, the socio-economic challenges that they have, it is important to also state that the workers, either in the public and private sector, are very key drivers of the economy of any state and a very key driver of even the private sector,” he added.
“And whatever will improve productivity will increase motivation, especially within the context of the reforms that we are ongoing. You know, if you are hungry, or if you’re not really composed, you’re hungry, you have issues with shelter, you have issues with transport, hardly would you be productive at work.”
He emphasized that it was in the best interest of state governments to recognize the civil service as the engine that powers governance and sustains the system.
“So if you see it from that perspective, you realise then it becomes important for you to address the issues that concern that engine.
“And that’s the perception of the private sector because the workers in the private sector are quite critical to productivity, critical to growth of the private sector, and that is the perception we have, that workers are important, then let’s treat them as the ILO said that workers are not commodities,” he said.
In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage bill into law, concluding months of negotiations between the government, labour unions, and the private sector.
The law, signed at the State House in Abuja shortly after its passage by the National Assembly, raised the national minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000.
Following the federal approval, several state governments announced higher wage adjustments for their workers.
On August 27, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma raised the minimum wage in the state from ₦70,000 to ₦104,000 to enhance workers’ welfare.
A day later, the Ebonyi State Government increased its minimum wage to ₦90,000, up from ₦70,000.
In October 2024, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu declared that state workers would earn ₦85,000, which is ₦15,000 above the federal benchmark.
Around the same time, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, and Bayelsa states each set their minimum wage at ₦80,000.
By November 2024, the Osun State Government also approved a new minimum wage of ₦75,000 for its civil servants.
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