Why Lagos Will Pay N85,000 Minimum Wage – Sanwo-Olu

informantonline.com.ng

October 16, 2024

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced that the state will now pay a minimum wage of N85,000 to its workers, which is N15,000 higher than the N70,000 approved by the Federal Government in July.

President Bola Tinubu had signed the new N70,000 minimum wage into law in July, following months of discussions between government officials, labor unions, and the private sector.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Sanwo-Olu clarified that Lagos is not increasing the wage to compete with other states, but because the state has the financial capacity to do so.

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“I am glad to let you know that the minimum wage for Lagos which we conversed and discussed with our union is N85,000 today,” Sanwo-Olu said on the programme.

“It is not a competition, so I am not going to say we are paying more than some other people, it is a function of affordability and it is a function of capacity, but we know too well that when people live in Lagos, Lagos has a premium in terms of even the cost of living, we are fully aware.”

The governor further disclosed that the state had already raised workers’ salaries earlier in the year, expressing his desire to implement a minimum wage of N100,000 by January 2025.

“We actually increased salaries earlier in the year and deserving so for our staff and we will continue to do that.

“I would like to come back to you in January to say I have been able to increase the minimum wage of Lagos to N100,000 not because I want to make anybody look bad, it is really because I want my people to have a living wage, I want them to really be able to know that government is working for them,” he said.