Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia has approved a minimum wage of ₦75,000 for workers in the state, fulfilling one of his major campaign promises to prioritize the welfare of the people.
The Governor announced this decision in Makurdi, the State capital after a meeting with representatives of organized labour.
Benue now joins a few other States like Kaduna, Kwara, Sokoto, Nasarawa, and Bayelsa that have since complied with the minimum wage increase.
President Bola Tinubu through an approved executive bill by the National Assembly okayed an increase in the minimum wage for Nigerian workers from N30,000 to N70,000 in July this year hoping to see the 36 States a d the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) key into the reform.
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A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Benue State Governor Tersoo Kula said the remaining three months of the five-month backlog of arrears promised to the union will be paid as budgeted in the 2024 budget, along with the minimum wage, effective November 2024.
“We are implementing a new national minimum wage of seventy-five thousand naira (₦75,000). We decided to set the wage at ₦75,000, fully aware of the other concerns raised by organized labor during the negotiations.
“These concerns included a minimum wage of thirty thousand naira, wage awards, transportation allowances, tax relief, and work-off days, among others.
“Recall that the President had approved the sum of ₦70,000, which we have decided to exceed, considering the concerns raised by organized labor regarding our ability to pay,” Governor Alia noted.
He emphasized that his government was committed to serving the common man, stressing that he would do everything legitimately possible to ensure that the workers of Benue State are properly taken care of.
The Governor said that his motivation to ensure the arrears are paid is to alleviate the effects of hardship on workers.
