The Kaduna State Government has started to put its new national minimum wage into action, meaning that the lowest-paid worker in the state will earn a total of N72,000 every month starting from November. This announcement goes against what the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has claimed—that the state government has failed to pay workers their new minimum wage.
According to a report by Dandali, some states in Nigeria have agreed to pay their workers even more than the national minimum wage of N70,000. Kaduna State, for example, is offering N72,000, which is higher than the national standard. However, despite this increase, the Kaduna chapter of the NLC has said they will still join a planned nationwide strike organized by their main body, the NLC.
Ayuba Suleiman, the chairman of the NLC in Kaduna, confirmed to reporters that they are ready to take part in the strike. When asked if the NLC was prepared to go on strike, he firmly replied, “Yes, we are set for the strike.”
In response to the NLC’s claims, Malam Ibraheem Musa, who is the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Uba Sani, stated that it is incorrect for the NLC to say that the state has not met its obligations in paying the new minimum wage. He emphasized that the government is indeed following the national law regarding minimum wage payments and stated, “Governor Uba Sani has fulfilled his obligation by ensuring that the lowest paid civil servant received N72,000 last month.”
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Musa also mentioned that while the NLC is pushing for further salary increases (referred to as “consequential adjustments”), the state government argues that there is a distinction between raising salaries and simply setting a minimum wage. He provided some background on the state’s finances, explaining that the Kaduna State Government receives about N8 billion a month from the Federal Account Allocation Committee and generates an additional N4 billion, bringing their total monthly revenue to around N12 billion. However, with the new minimum wage, their monthly payroll expenses increased from N5.4 billion to N6.3 billion, and there is also an ongoing deduction of N4 billion monthly to cover loans.
After these expenses, the government is left with just N2 billion to spend on vital services like healthcare, education, and rural development. Musa argued that it would be unfair for the Kaduna State Government to allocate the majority of its revenue to salary adjustments when there are many other people in the state who also deserve a share of that money. He pointed out that there are about 10 million people in the state, but only 84,827 civil servants, meaning the government spending most of its money on just a small percentage of the population isn’t reasonable.
Musa urged the NLC to be patient regarding the call for salary adjustments until the state’s financial situation improves. He also highlighted that Governor Uba Sani is supportive of workers’ rights and has taken steps to help civil servants, like providing free buses for them to get to work as part of efforts to alleviate some of the current economic pressures.
