Amid rising living costs, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has announced a new N85,000 minimum wage for Lagos civil servants, marking his third salary increase since 2019.
Only in January 2023, the governor began the implementation of a minimum wage he promised the workers in September 2022. He once again increased the wages in January 2024, before Wednesday’s announcement.
The governor who disclosed this while responding to questions on a popular television show on efforts made by his administration to cushion effects of subsidy removal on workers, however, said the decision has to do with the peculiar position of the state and affordability by the government.
“It is not a competition. I am not going to say that we are paying more than some people; it is a function of affordability and capacity. We know too well that when people live in Lagos, Lagos has a premium in terms of the cost of living. We are fully aware.
“We also increased our salary earlier in the year. I will want to come back in January and say that I have been able to increase the minimum wage of Lagos to N100,000, not because I want to make anybody look bad, but because I want my people to have a living,” he stated.
The approval of the new wage is coming on the heels of the approval of a N70,000 minimum wage by the Federal Government after negotiations with labour unions in the country.
He added: “I’m glad to let you know that the minimum wage for Lagos, which we have discussed with our union, is N85,000 today”, he said.
