Zamfara Gov’t commences payment of N30,000 minimum wage to workers after five years

Zamfara State Government has initiated the payment of the minimum wage of N30,000 to workers in the Northwest state.

This was in response to a meeting that the state governor, Dauda Lawal, held with the leadership of labour unions, during which he declared his intention to begin paying the minimum wage in June.

This was disclosed by Sulaiman Bala Idris, the spokesman to the Governor in a statement on Friday.

He stated that civil servants in Zamfara began receiving their June salary on the 12th, ahead of the Eid-ul-Adha celebration.

He said before now, civil servants were being paid a paltry N7,000 monthly, adding that the current administration is determined to see to the welfare of workers.

“The Zamfara State Government, led by Governor Dauda Lawal, has disbursed the June salary to support workers in preparing for the upcoming Eid celebration,” the statement reads.

“This is in line with the fulfillment of the promise made by the governor last month to implement the N30,000 minimum wage.

“Before now, civil servants in Zamfara received a minimum wage as low as N7,000.

“The government has been worker-friendly since its inception, ensuring the payment of three months withheld salaries, leave grants, owed gratuities, and timely payment of salaries.

“The government will continue to make further efforts to reform and rejuvenate the Zamfara civil service.”

Senate: No plan to seize states’ allocation over non-compliance

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Adeyemi Adaramodu, on Saturday denied a media report of alleged plan by the Senate to include a clause for seizure of states’ and local government councils’ funds in the New Minimum Wage Bill to be proposed by President Bola Tinubu.

A national daily had reported that the National Assembly included in the awaited bill a clause to sanction states or LGAs that may refuse to pay the new minimum wage that would propose the seizure of statutory monthly allocation accruable from the Federation Account after the new minimum wage Bill is signed into law by the President.

Senator Adaramodu, who represents Ekiti South Senatorial District, in a statement in Abuja, dismissed the report as unfounded.

He said it would be wrong to insinuate that the Senate or the National Assembly would take a position on a Bill that hasn’t been transmitted to it for consideration and passage.

He said: “Mr. President in his national broadcast on Democracy Day only informed Nigerians that he would soon send the New Minimum Wage Bill to us (National Assembly).

“No one among us, not even the Senate President, knows the content of the Bill. How can we take a position on a document that we haven’t even sighted?

“During my interface with some journalists, as part of activities to mark the one year anniversary of the 10th National Assembly, I did not at any point state that the allocations belonging to states and local governments will be seized.

“Nigeria is a federation with sub-national governments that are autonomous. The misleading headline by the newspaper that allocations belonging to states and local councils will be seized is false and should be disregarded.

“We are still awaiting the Executive Bill, and once we have it, it will go through all legislative stages, and once this is done and it receives Presidential assent, it would become law. And it is law that can specify sanction, not the National Assembly.”

The Senate spokesperson reiterated that the report attributed to him by one of the national dailies was a misrepresentation of his interactive session with the newsmen.

He added: “My interview was well reported today in the national dailies. It was not exclusive to this particular paper.

“Other newspapers reflected adequately what I said. Why did the newspaper choose to misrepresent me?”