President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has called on the federal and state governments to emulate Imo State by paying workers a higher minimum wage.
Ajaero made the call in Abuja at the seventh quadrennial delegates’ conference of the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers (NUCECFWW), themed “Building Trade Unions’ Future Through Strategic Organising and Investments.”
Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State had recently increased the minimum wage for civil servants from ₦76,000 to ₦104,000. He also raised the minimum wage for doctors from ₦215,000 to ₦503,000, while tutors in tertiary institutions saw their pay move from ₦119,000 to ₦222,000.
Reacting, the NLC president described the development as “real and commendable.”
“So many people were asking me, is this real? I said this is a report from Imo State so far,” Ajaero said. “I have reached out to him, and he told me about it before now. It is real. That is the highest, and to a very large extent, it is commendable.”
Ajaero recalled that the federal government, during earlier negotiations, argued it could pay more but did not want to destabilise the wage structure at the subnational level.
“But if the states have the capacity to pay ₦100,000 and above—and considering that Imo State is not the highest in terms of revenue—it then means others are encouraged to do more,” he said.
“That is the whole essence of minimum wage. Minimum wage is the least; states can do better. I think this is an initiative that other governors are supposed to follow. You must not wait for the next three years for a wage to be reviewed, especially given the current economic situation, so that people can at least survive.”
The labour leader also expressed concern over developments at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), accusing the government of diverting part of workers’ contributions.
“The state, having diverted 40 percent of workers’ contributions in NSITF, is now seeking to unilaterally amend the NSITF Act,” Ajaero alleged.
“This is to allow the government to control a fund that entirely belongs to workers. We had demanded that the funds be accounted for and returned so that Nigerian workers will enjoy the benefits of the agency.”
