Sanwo-Olu didn’t announce N70k minimum wage increase, says commissioner

The Lagos government says Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of the state, has not announced a new minimum wage for civil servants in the nation’s commercial capital. 

On Thursday, some social media reports claimed that Sanwo-Olu has increased the minimum wage in Lagos to N70,000.

The reports said the Lagos governor made the announcement while unveiling social intervention programmes.

Clarifying the report, Gbenga Omotoso, commissioner for information in Lagos, said Sanwo-Olu did not announce a new minimum wage.

Omotoso explained that Sanwo-Olu, at the unveiling of ‘Eko Cares’ in Ikeja on Wednesday, said since January, the state has been paying N35,000 wage award to workers.

The Lagos governor said workers who are earning N35,000 are now getting the sum of N70,000 monthly due to the additional wage award.

“I know that by the grace of God, very soon, we’ll see a new minimum wage that will be approved for the federal government and for the state government,” the Lagos governor was quoted as saying in a statement.

“The civil servants and all public officers, they know that since January we have continued to pay the wage allowance of 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.”

The current national minimum wage is N30,000 and discussions on a new minimum wage are ongoing.