Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has announced that his administration will implement a minimum wage of ₦85,000 for workers in Lagos State. This announcement was made during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Tonight on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.
Sanwo-Olu addressed various issues during the interview, including transportation, ongoing road projects, and measures to alleviate the prevalent hunger and hardship in Nigeria. He emphasized that the decision to set the minimum wage at ₦85,000 was based on the state’s capacity to afford it, not as a competitive move against other states.
He stated, “The minimum wage for Lagos, which we’ve discussed with our union, is ₦85,000 today. It is not a competition; it is a function of affordability and capacity.” He acknowledged the high cost of living in Lagos and mentioned that the state had previously increased workers’ salaries earlier in the year.
Looking ahead, Sanwo-Olu expressed his desire to raise the minimum wage to ₦100,000 by January 2025, stating, “I want my people to have a living wage, I want them to know that government is working for them.”
This announcement follows President Bola Tinubu’s signing of a new ₦70,000 minimum wage bill into law in July, ending months of negotiations between the government, labor unions, and the private sector.