The House of Representatives Committee on Labour, Employment, and Productivity is set to investigate the delayed implementation of the newly approved ₦70,000 minimum wage by several state governments.
In a conversation with The PUNCH on Tuesday, the committee’s chairman, Adegboyega Adefarati, expressed the House’s commitment to addressing the issue as soon as the National Assembly reconvenes on September 17, following its annual recess.
“We will address the matter immediately after we resume from recess. For now, we can only appeal to the governors to comply with the law,” Adefarati stated.
The Federal Government and organized labour reached an agreement on July 19 to increase the minimum wage from ₦30,000 to ₦70,000 after protracted negotiations. President Bola Tinubu signed the new minimum wage bill into law on July 29, with the stipulation that payments be backdated to May.
Despite the passage of over a month since the law was enacted, many states have yet to commence the payment of the new wage. While some states, such as Gombe, have indicated challenges in meeting the new wage, others have established panels to develop strategies for implementing the ₦70,000 minimum wage.
Investigations have revealed that only a few states, including Edo, Adamawa, Osun, Taraba, Enugu, and Ebonyi, have begun paying the ₦70,000 minimum wage to their civil servants.
This article is sourced from The Punch newspaper, with minor edits and adaptations by The Spectacles for clarity and readability.
