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Minimum Wage: Governors Move To Meet Dec 31 Deadline
Following the threat by the Nigeria Labour Congress that it may not be able to guarantee industrial peace and harmony if governors refuse to conclude negotiations and payment of the National Minimum Wage by December 31, some states that have yet to begin the implementation have commenced negotiations with the labour unions in their states.
According to findings by our correspondents, there are different stages of negotiations in the states that have yet to comply with the new minimum wage, which was signed into law on April 18, 2019 by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
In Plateau State, for example, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Dan Manjang, told one of our correspondents in an interview on Friday that negotiations with labour unions in the state were still ongoing and that government was aware of the December 31 deadline given by the labour union.
He said government had already set up a committee for that purpose, adding that Governor Simon Lalong was committed to the welfare of workers in the state, even though he did not disclose the exact date the state would commence the payment of the new minimum wage.
Investigations by our correspondent, however, revealed that no formal meeting had taken place between government’s negotiating team and the representatives of labour to discuss modalities for the implementation.
He added, “What I can tell you is that deadline or no deadline, we will pay the new minimum wage to our workers. The governor was among members of the technical committee that arrived at the 30, 000 minimum wage, so there is no way he will turn round to say that he will not pay the workers in his home state.”
In Ekiti State, the Secretary, Ekiti State Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, Gbenga Olowoyo, said on Friday that the council that would negotiate the payment of the new minimum wage in the state had been constituted but that it was expecting government’s committee to call for inaugural meeting so that the negotiations could begin.
Olowoyo said, “We have no doubt about meeting the December 31 deadline and consequent payment of the minimum wage by the state government. Labour in the state had a roundtable with Governor Kayode Fayemi on Tuesday and he reassured us that negotiations would soon begin and that he would implement the resolution at the joint negotiation.”
The state Commissioner for Information, Mr Muyiwa Olumilua, said, “They (the committee) had been doing underground work and that negotiations would soon commence.”
In Delta State Governor, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Mr Olisa Ifejika, said the committee set up by the governor had been meeting to agree on the template for the implementation of the new minimum wage.
He said, “The labour in Delta does not have problem because Governor Okowa had said the state was ready to implement whatever template the Federal Government approved. The committee chaired by the Secretary to the State Government, Chiedu Ebie, has been meeting and will also meet on Monday to look at the modalities of payment.”
In Enugu State, findings showed that government had constituted a five-member negotiation committee, headed by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof Simon Ortuanya, that would confer with labour on the issue.
The Chairman of the Trade Union Congress in the state, Mr Chukwuma Igbokwe, who confirmed the development to Sunday PUNCH, said the committee met on Monday and setup a technical committee to work out the financial implications of the new law.
Igbokwe said, “When we have worked it out at the technical committee, we will revert to the main committee to start negotiating the consequential adjustment and if there would be need for adjustment.”
He explained that the committee also discussed the sustenance of the payment of 13th month to workers.
In Abia State, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has tasked the Joint Negotiation Committee to work out modalities that would make it seamless for the government to implement the payment of the new minimum wage to workers. He assured the workers that his government was committed to paying the new minimum wage.
While inaugurating the 16-man committee, which has the state Head of Service, Onyi Wamah, as chairman on Friday, the governor, represented by his deputy, Ude Oko Chukwu, also charged them to recommend ways of stopping ghost workers and padding of salaries in the state, saying such practices were responsible for the heavy wage bill in the state.
He mandated them to expedite action and submit their report on or before December 31, 2019.
Meanwhile, in Rivers State, it is not yet clear when the committee on the minimum wage implementation will be set up.
The state NLC chairperson, Mrs Beatrice Utubo, told Sunday PUNCH that a letter had already been sent to Governor Nyesom Wike on the need to set up the negotiation committee on minimum wage.
She said, “‘We have sent a letter to the governor. They have called us to ask us who would constitute the committee and which we have told them. Then we (Rivers State NLC) left for Abuja for a meeting on the minimum wage. I will see the Secretary to the State Government on the issue on Monday.”
The state Head of Service, Mr Rufus Godwin, said he would speak to one of our correspondents on the matter on Monday.
Also, in Imo State, the state Commissioner for Information, Felix Ebilikwe, said on Friday that government would soon announce the minimum wage negotiation committee, noting that the committee would meet up with the December 31 deadline given by labour.
“The governor is labour friendly and Imo State under Governor Emeka Ihedioha will keep civil servants happy,” he added.
In Osun State, the state government kept mum over the issue, even as the organised labour in the state said it had written to the governor, asking him to constitute the team that would discuss the new minimum wage.
The NLC Secretary in the state, Rufus Adeyemi, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, however said labour was still expecting his reply to the letter.”
In Benue State, an aide to Governor Samuel Ortom, Chief Ode Enyi, on Friday said that the governor would soon set up a committee to meet with labour over the new minimum wage.
When informed of the deadline given by the organised labour, Enyi said, “The labour leaders in the state know that the governor is a lover of workers and will go the extra mile to ensure that workers in the state enjoy.”
Asked if government had received correspondence from the national secretariat of the organised labour, the governor’s aide said no letter had been received.
In Ogun State, the state government said it would soon set up negotiation committee to enhance the payment of the national minimum wage.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dapo Abiodun, Kunle Somorin, said, “The organised labour unions have been meeting with our workers-friendly government on the minimum wage issue and an agreement will soon be reached.”
The state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress had few weeks ago threatened a showdown with the government over the minimum wage, saying it had written series of letters to the government but were all ignored.
As a result, the NLC in the state said it could not guarantee industrial harmony.
The presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, AAC, Omoyele Sowore, is currently leading a protest demanding the exit of President Bola Tinubu.
In a video, Sowore was seen in front of the demonstrators chanting ‘Tinubu must go’ across some streets in the nation capital city, Abuja.
The protesters also carried placards with the image of President Tinubu with the inscription, ‘Tinubu must go’.
Recall that Sowore is standing trial before the Federal High Court in Abuja on a two-count charge bordering on alleged cyberstalking and criminal defamation of President Tinubu.
The prosecution was instituted by the Department of State Services, DSS, under the amended Cybercrimes Act, stemming from social media posts Sowore made in August 2025 describing President Tinubu as a “criminal”
A member of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress, Tolu Bankole, on Tuesday commended President Bola Tinubu for ordering an immediate investigation into the cause of the Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in Ondo State.
Bankole, who is also the APC National Leader for Persons with Disabilities and Secretary of the Subcommittee of the APC National Campaign Council for Osun, described the President’s directive as timely and necessary to prevent a recurrence of the tragedy.
He made the commendation in a statement issued in Abuja following Monday’s crash of an NAF ATR-42 aircraft near Igbokoda in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The crash claimed the lives of 32 people comprising 25 passengers and seven crew members.
He said, “Mr. President’s directive that the Nigerian Air Force should immediately commence a thorough investigation into the cause of the crash to prevent future occurrences is apt, timely and demonstrates responsive leadership.
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“I commend Mr. President for his prompt and compassionate response, for declaring a three-day national mourning and directing that flags be flown at half-mast in honour of our fallen heroes.”
Tinubu had earlier directed the NAF to immediately investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Monday titled, ‘President Tinubu mourns NAF personnel in Ondo jet crash, orders thorough investigation of the mishap.’
Continuing, Bankole described the incident as a “heartbreaking loss” to the Nigerian Air Force, the Armed Forces and the country, saying the deceased personnel had made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
He said, “This is a heartbreaking loss to the Nigerian Air Force, the Armed Forces and our nation at large. These officers were patriots who daily put their lives on the line to secure the territorial integrity of our country. Their sacrifice and dedicated service to the nation will never be forgotten.
“I extend my heartfelt condolences to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, the officers, airmen and airwomen of the Nigerian Air Force, and most importantly, to the families of our fallen heroes who have paid the supreme price in the course of national duty.”
The APC chieftain also commended the swift response of first responders and the Ondo State Government at the crash site.
Bankole prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased and urged Nigerians to stand in solidarity with the Armed Forces during the period of mourning.
He said, “May Almighty God grant the souls of our gallant officers eternal rest and grant their families, the Nigerian Air Force and the entire nation the fortitude to bear this painful and irreparable loss.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has paid tribute to the officers who lost their lives in Monday’s Nigerian Air Force aircraft crash in Ondo State, saying their supreme sacrifice in the service of the nation will never be forgotten.
Shettima assured the bereaved families that the Federal Government’s responsibility to them would not end with words of condolence, noting that a nation that asks its citizens to serve must also remember those who pay the ultimate price in that service.
In a statement on Tuesday morning, the Vice President conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased, as well as the officers, airmen and airwomen of the Nigerian Air Force, describing the tragedy as a painful national loss.
“Thirty-two of our compatriots left on a routine mission in the service of their country. They were colleagues, friends and comrades. But beyond the uniforms they wore and the ranks they held, they were husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.
“Somewhere today, there is an empty chair. Somewhere, a family is still trying to comprehend the sudden silence left by someone who was expected to return home. These are the human faces of the supreme sacrifice we speak about as a nation,” he said.
Shettima reaffirmed President Bola Tinubu’s directives following the tragedy, noting that the President had declared three days of national mourning and directed that flags be flown at half-mast in honour of the deceased.
He also acknowledged the President’s directive for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash, saying the nation mourns with the families as they await answers.
According to the Vice President, the ultimate sacrifice made by the deceased imposes an enduring obligation on the nation to remember both their service and the loved ones they left behind.
“We cannot ask the bereaved to be strong today. Grief does not obey instructions. We can only assure them that Nigeria remembers, Nigeria mourns with them, and Nigeria will stand beside them beyond these days of mourning,” VP Shettima said.
He also extended his solidarity to officers, airmen and airwomen of the Nigerian Air Force, noting that the tragedy had taken from the Service members of a professional family bound together by duty and sacrifice.
“To the men and women of the Nigerian Air Force, we know that this loss is yours in a particularly personal way. Your fallen colleagues have paid the supreme price. A grateful nation honours their courage, their service and the families who shared them with Nigeria,” he stated.
The Vice President prayed for the repose of the souls of the deceased and for comfort and strength for their families, colleagues and loved ones.
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