Lagos Denies Increasing Minimum Wage to N70,000

Femi Ashekun/

Lagos State government has clarified a statement credited to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu purporting that minimum wage had been increased to N70,000.

The state government in a statement on its official X handle said the governor was misquoted.

It noted that the minimum wage for civil servants in the state remains N35,000.

According to the statement, what the governor said was that those earning N35,000 minimum wage before January 2024 are now earning N70,000 since the state government started paying additional N35,000 wage award.

The statement reads, “The Lagos State Government has not increased the minimum wage, contrary to the impression in some media reports, which emanated from the unveiling of Eko Cares – the umbrella for the various interventions to protect the poor against the effects of the prevailing economic hardship. The event was held at the Governor’s Office in Ikeja on Wednesday.

“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been erroneously quoted as saying that a new minimum wage of N70,000 had been announced. This is wrong. Mr. Governor never said so. He said since January, civil servants had been earning the N35,000 wage award directed by the Federal Government. In other words, those earning N35,000 now earn N70,000. He did not announce a new minimum wage of N70,000.

“His words: ‘I know that by the grace of God very very soon we’ll see a new minimum wage that will be approved for the Federal Government and the State government. The civil servants and all public officers, they know that since January we have continued to pay the wage allowance of a minimum of N35,000 over and above what they were earning before.

“’People that were earning a minimum of N35,000 to N40,000 before, they are now earning over N70,000. So, it’s important for people to know and for us to lay this thing very clearly. This government has doubled up and has not left its citizens on their own’”.