Organised Labour has urged Nigerians to remain patient with both the Federal and State Governments due to delays in the implementation of the new minimum wage.
The workers’ union has also defended the Federal Government, stating that it would be unfair to accuse it of deliberately avoiding the payment of the new minimum wage.
The Deputy President of the Nigeria Labour Congress Political Commission, Prof. Theophilus Ndubuaku, emphasised that the delay should not be seen as intentional. “We have no reason to suspect that there is a deliberate delay. In a real sense, signing the wage is just a small component of the main activity. There is something we call consequential adjustment. That involves the calculation of the minimum wage from level one, step one. From there, we will move from stage one to 13 all the way to level 16,” he explained.
President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage into law on July 29, following meetings with leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria.
As of now, only seven states—Kano, Kwara, Ogun, Borno, Jigawa, Ondo, and Abia—have established implementation committees for the new N70,000 minimum wage. The states that have yet to set up these panels include Plateau, Kebbi, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Bayelsa, Delta, Osun, Ekiti, Zamfara, Benue, Enugu, Taraba, Gombe, Kogi, Adamawa, Niger, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Oyo, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Katsina, Kaduna, Cross River, and Yobe.
Lagos and Edo states have reported that they have begun paying the new minimum wage, while Adamawa has recently joined this list.
Ndubuaku remains hopeful that the implementation process will be completed by the end of August. He stated, “It is something that may take some time. Again, they are not going to compile them alone. There are templates for compiling it. But they must also carry us along. I believe you are aware there is a committee that is supposed to carry out the necessary adjustments. We expect it should be completed before the end of the month.”
