₦airaland Forum

Some states have decided to surpass the Federal Government's approved minimum wage of N70,000 for Nigerian workers.

In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for civil servants across Nigeria with a promise to review every three years.

Following this directive, several states have taken steps to implement even higher minimum wages to support their workforce.

Here is a list of states that are now paying above the approved minimum wage:

1. Lagos State: Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday approved the payment of N85,000 minimum wage for workers. The governor added that by January 2025 he would be paying N100,000 minimum wage.

2. Ogun State: Governor Dapo Abiodun on Monday announced a minimum wage of N77,000 for workers. This decision was made during a meeting with labour leaders and aims to improve the living standards of workers in the state.

3. Ondo State: Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa implemented a N73,000 minimum wage for state government workers. He expressed his commitment to worker welfare, stating that Ondo would surpass the federal benchmark to better support its citizens.

4. Kogi State: Governor Ahmed Ododo on Monday approved a N72,500 minimum wage. This decision includes a suspension of tax burdens on the new wage for one year, aimed at alleviating financial pressures on workers.

5. Gombe State: The state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nigeria Labour Congress to implement a minimum wage of N71,500. The agreement was hailed as historic by labour leaders, reflecting a commitment to improving the compensation for civil servants in the state.

In addition to these states paying above the federal minimum wage, others have begun implementing the approved N70,000 wage.

States like Delta, Adamawa, Edo, Borno, Ekiti, Cross River, and Ebonyi have started paying the N70K minimum wage.

Meanwhile, states like Bauchi, Oyo, and Enugu, Sokoto, have set up implementation committees to ensure compliance with the new wage law.

However, several states, including Jigawa, Zamfara, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa, have not yet shown readiness to implement the minimum wage.

FG to replace foreign cartoons with Nigerian content that promotes values

The Federal Government has expressed concern over the increasing adoption of “foreign attitudes” among Nigerian children, attributed to their exposure to foreign cartoons.

The Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Onilu, disclosed this in Bauchi on Friday during the launch of the campaign to promote the National Anthem and the National Value Charter.

Onilu, represented by the National Director, PRS (NOA), Nura Yusuf Kobi, raised concerns about the infiltration of foreign cultures into Nigerian homes through cartoon characters.

He revealed that President Bola Tinubu had approved the replacement of foreign cartoons with Nigerian content to promote national values.

“We are worried that Nigeria is giving birth to children with foreign behaviours. We have noticed that our kids learn many foreign attitudes through cartoons from other countries. We are going to replace them with local cartoons that will promote our character and culture so that those currently shown on GOtv, StarTimes, and the rest will be substituted,” Onilu said.

He further remarked, “Nigeria’s image has been badly portrayed abroad as a country of kidnappers, bandits, terrorists, fraudsters, and so on. We want to redefine our identity because, at the moment, nobody can clearly define Nigeria’s identity. In the past, during the leadership of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria had a well-defined identity.”

“It is unfortunate that Nigerians now celebrate when someone returns items or money at airports to their rightful owners, as if the person has done something extraordinary. In normal circumstances, every Nigerian should be honest, but due to recent events, many of us have lost our moral compass,” he lamented.

Onilu explained that the campaign aims to redefine the nation’s identity, change the narrative, and discourage Nigerians from concealing their identity while abroad.

Earlier, the Bauchi State Coordinator of NOA, Mrs. Theresa Omaga, elaborated on the agency’s plans to extend the campaign across the 20 local government areas of the state. She stated that the campaign would run simultaneously at both the state and local levels.