Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has in celebration of this year’s workers’ day announced the increment of the state’s minimum wage to N40,000.
What he’s saying
Governor Godwin Obaseki, in his 2022 workers’ day speech, acknowledged that the former minimum wage of N30,000 was not enough to sustain a Nigerian in this period of inflated prices, therefore the need to increase the minimum wage to N40,000. He also added that his administration is collaborating with the Union of Pensioners to pay a harmonized amount from this month, May 2022.
What this means
With the announcement of Gov. Godwin Obaseki, Edo State became the first state in Nigeria to implement a N40,000 minimum wage.
Meanwhile
Other state governors had in 2021 claimed they couldn’t pay the N30,000 minimum wage after the House of Assembly passed the bill approving the new minimum wage from the N18,000 it was in 2019.
State of play
Recent report has shown that the national minimum wage of N30,000 is not sufficient to meet the health standards of a Nigerian adult. Considering 8 product groups of bread, milk, eggs, rice, cheese, meat, fruits and vegetables, the average cost of these products was N40,980, 15.89% higher than its cost in 2021.