The Lagos State government has said that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was misquoted in the widely circulated report suggesting the State had raised minimum wage to N70,000. Lagos State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, disclosed this in a statement clarifying the issue.
Omotoso said: “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 Lagos State Government has not increased the minimum wage.”
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He further explained that Governor Sanwo-Olu had been incorrectly quoted as announcing a new minimum wage of N70,000.
“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,” Omotoso clarified.
In essence, those who were earning N35,000 are now earning N70,000. This does not mean that a new minimum wage of N70,000 has been announced. Instead, it reflects the increase in earnings for those who were previously on the N35,000 wage.
Omotoso quoted the governor as saying, “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 civil servants and all public officers 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.”
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“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 governor was quoted as saying.