NLC lauds Imo’s wage hike, challenges govs

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, has urged both federal and state governments to take a cue from Imo State by implementing higher minimum wages for workers.

Speaking on Thursday in Abuja at the seventh quadrennial delegates’ conference of the National Union of Civil Engineering Construction, Furniture and Wood Workers, Ajaero commended Governor Hope Uzodimma for his bold decision to significantly raise salaries across Imo State’s workforce.

Earlier this month, Uzodimma announced an increase in the state’s minimum wage from ₦76,000 to ₦104,000.

The governor also approved salary adjustments for key sectors: doctors’ pay rose from ₦215,000 to ₦503,000, while tutors in tertiary institutions saw their wages jump from ₦119,000 to ₦222,000.

Ajaero described the move as both “real and commendable”. “So many people were asking me, Is this real? I said, this is a report from Imo state so far. I have reached out to him. Although he told me about it before, now. It is real. That is the highest and, to a very large extent, commendable,” he said.

He further urged other governors to act without waiting for the statutory three-year wage review cycle.

“If the states have the capacity to pay ₦100,000 and above, and considering that Imo state is not the highest in terms of revenue, it then means others are encouraged to do more. Minimum wage is the least; states can do better. I think this is an initiative that other governors are supposed to follow. You must not wait for the next three years for a wage to be reviewed, especially given the current economic situation, so that people can at least survive,” he stressed.

Beyond wages, Ajaero also expressed concern over developments at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund.

He accused the government of diverting 40 per cent of workers’ contributions and attempting to amend the NSITF Act to gain greater control over the fund.

“The state, having diverted 40 per cent of workers’ contributions in NSITF, is now seeking to unilaterally amend the NSITF Act. This is to allow the government to control a fund that entirely belongs to workers. We had demanded that the funds be accounted for and returned so that Nigerian workers would enjoy the benefits of the agency,” he said.