Nigerian workers have confirmed that they have received the Federal Government’s new minimum wage.
Benson Upah, spokesperson for the Nigeria Labour Congress, and Tommy Etim, Deputy President of the Trade Union Congress, both made this announcement in separate statements on Thursday. Their comments followed a report from DAILY POST that the Federal Government has started paying the new minimum wage of N70,000.
In response to the commencement of these payments, Upah encouraged other organizations to follow the Federal Government’s lead. “Yes, I believe so. We urge other entities to emulate this example,” he stated.
Similarly, Etim pointed out that the FG’s committee on consequential adjustments has already provided a payment template, stating that there is no justification for delays in minimum wage payments. He urged all parties to begin implementing the new wage.
A civil servant from the office of the Head of Civil Service, who wished to remain anonymous, confirmed receiving the new minimum wage payment for September 2024. “I got an alert around 2 pm on Thursday. I’m hoping the arrears will be processed too,” he said.
Some federal workers reported an additional N40,000 to their previous salary as part of the consequential adjustments. This means that over 1.2 million federal workers have begun receiving the new minimum wage.
On Tuesday, Ekpo Nta, Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, confirmed that the government has approved an increase in the consolidated public service salary structure, in accordance with the Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act, 2024. This approval followed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to set the new minimum wage at N70,000 on July 18, 2024, which was later passed into law by the Senate.
The new N70,000 minimum wage represents a 100 percent increase from the previous N30,000 under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
However, this wage increase coincides with rising prices for goods and services, with headline and food inflation reaching 32.15 and 37.52 percent, respectively, in August 2024.
