20 Governors Under Fire for Delaying ₦70,000 Minimum Wage Implementation
The National President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Alhaji Haruna Kankara, revealed on Sunday that approximately 20 states in Nigeria have not yet implemented the ₦70,000 minimum wage for local government workers and primary school teachers. These states include Yobe, Gombe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Imo, Ebonyi, Cross River, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, Borno, and 11 others.
Kankara stated that although some states have begun paying the new wage to state workers, local government workers and primary school teachers in these states are still waiting for their payments. The ₦70,000 minimum wage was signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on July 29, 2024, after extensive negotiations with labor unions. This increase of 133% from the previous ₦30,000 minimum wage was seen as a necessary step amidst the ongoing economic hardships faced by the country.
Kankara expressed his frustration, saying, “About 20 states have not started implementing the new minimum wage. Some have begun paying state workers, but local government workers and primary school teachers are still waiting.” He pointed out that several of these states had initially made promises to implement the new wage but had failed to fulfill them. Despite this setback, Kankara remained optimistic, hoping the issue would soon be resolved in favor of the workers.
In Kwara State, the implementation of the ₦70,000 minimum wage began in October 2024, according to NULGE’s state president, Seun Oyinlade. However, Oyinlade raised concerns over the heavy taxation imposed by the state government, which has significantly reduced workers’ take-home pay. He noted that while the state government had granted a three-month tax relief to workers, this relief ended in December 2024. From January 2025, the state government resumed the full taxation, reducing the benefit of the wage increase for many workers.
In Sokoto State, local government workers and teachers confirmed that they began receiving the new wage in January 2025. Usman Abdullah, an LG worker, shared that an additional ₦50,000 was added to their previous salary, although the ₦30,000 minimum wage had never been fully implemented at the local government level. He mentioned, “They added ₦50,000 to our salary, but the last minimum wage of ₦30,000 was not implemented at the local government level. This administration added ₦50,000 to our old salary as our minimum wage benefit.”
Meanwhile, several states, including Zamfara, Yobe, Taraba, Sokoto, Niger, Kogi, Kaduna, Imo, Gombe, Cross River, Borno, Benue, Adamawa, and Abia, have yet to implement the ₦30,000 minimum wage for teachers, as reported by the National Union of Teachers (NUT). Teachers in these states have voiced their concerns and appealed for federal intervention, especially since they have not received the previous wage. A teacher in Yobe State lamented, “For us in Yobe, we haven’t even benefited from the previous minimum wage, how can someone who didn’t even enjoy ₦30,000 talk of enjoying ₦70,000? We appeal to the president to please intervene.”
In the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), teachers in the Bwari Area Council embarked on their fourth strike in four months in March 2025. The teachers were protesting the non-implementation of the ₦70,000 minimum wage. The latest strike disrupted the second-term exams across the six area councils in the FCT. In a communique issued during the strike, the teachers expressed their disappointment, stating that the payment of the February salary by the councils did not align with the new minimum wage. They demanded that the salary discrepancies be addressed, as well as the payment of wage arrears and the implementation of various allowances, including a 40% peculiar allowance.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) has not yet responded to media inquiries regarding the ongoing situation, as their leadership has been unreachable.