• Many states fail to implement new wage
• Labour tackles govs over uneven adjustments
From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Nearly a year after most states in the country began negotiating and adopting the new national minimum wage structure, only a handful have fully implemented it as agreed, leaving workers in many states short-changed and frustrated.
A document tracking the status of the new national minimum wage implementation, which was sighted by Saturday Sun, shows that while most states have negotiated new wage benchmarks, ranging from N70, 000 to N85, 000, implementation remains uneven across the country.
As of May 2025, only a few states like Abia, Adamawa, Bauchi, Kano, Lagos, FCT, and Rivers have commenced full payment. However, many others have missed their scheduled start dates of October and December 2024, with no clear communication on when workers will begin to receive the agreed wages.
Some states, like Oyo, pegged implementation for January 2025, but reports on implementation remain sketchy. Meanwhile, Enugu State is yet to conclude negotiations and has only partially implemented the new wage.
Lagos and Rivers lead with N85, 000 as the new minimum wage, already in effect. Akwa Ibom, Oyo, and Niger follow closely with N80, 000. In contrast, many northern states such as Zamfara, Yobe, Sokoto, and Borno have pegged the new wage at N70, 000, while some are yet to show clear signs of implementation.
Speaking on the situation, the National Deputy General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Chris Onyeka, criticized the inconsistent implementation and described some state government practices as deceptive and unfair to workers.
“The real point is this: while some states are implementing appropriately, some are implementing but not appropriately, while others are not implementing at all,” Onyeka said.
He added: “When you come and say that consequential adjustment is N40, 000 across board like in the civil service, what is the meaning of that? If somebody is earning N200, 000 and you add N40,000 to his salary, that is N240,000 for all this wahala? That is not a consequential adjustment. Consequential adjustment cannot be the same across the board. It cannot be the same.”
The push for a higher minimum wage gained momentum in early 2024 following nationwide protests and negotiations led by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
At the time, the labour unions cited rising inflation, growing insecurity, and an eroding standard of living as reasons why the previous N30, 000 minimum wage had become untenable.
Following intense negotiations among organised labour, the federal government, and state governors, most states agreed to new wage structures and set staggered timelines for implementation, mostly between October and December 2024. However, as of May 2025, many of these promises remain unfulfilled. The NLC has warned that if defaulting states continue to delay or dilute the wage structure, a coordinated national strike may be inevitable.
Labour officials maintain that any consequential adjustment must reflect workers’ existing grade levels and salary scales, not a flat-rate addition. The on-going disparities, according to union leaders, undermine the purpose of the wage review and risk destabilising labour relations nationwide.