The Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Lagos State, Ismail Adejumo, has described the ₦70,000 minimum wage recently announced by Governor Lucky Obaseki in Edo State as an “aberration.”
The NLC official stated that no state government has the power to unilaterally announce a minimum wage. Governor Obaseki on Monday increased the minimum wage for workers in Edo State from ₦40,000 to ₦70,000, effective from May 1, 2024.
Reacting to the development, Adejumo said what the Governor did is a mere “distraction.” He urged Obaseki to allow the national tripartite committee on the new minimum wage set up by the federal government to make a pronouncement.
“Minimum wage is a universal law and no state can pronounce a minimum wage, it’s an aberration,” Adejumo said during an interview with Arise Television. “What happened in Edo state is just a kind of distraction to us because they’re trying to spite the government to know where they’re going.”
The governor made the announcement at the commissioning of the newly built ultra-modern Labour House secretariat complex for labour unions in the State, along Temboga Road, Ikpoba-Hill, Benin City.
