Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has approved N85,000.00 as the new minimum wage for the state’s civil servants.
The new minimum wage will take effect from November 2024.
Fubara gave the approval after a meeting with representatives of the Organised Labour in the state held at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Rivers State now leads oil-rich states that receive the highest federal allocation in Nigeria in the payment of salaries to workers.
This cheering news for civil servants in Rivers State is coming at a time when Governor Fubara is immersed in deep rivalry with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Some political analysts predict this action by Fubara would further endear him to the people of the state and invariably elicit more sympathy for him in the ongoing onslaught between him and Wike on the control of the ‘political soul’ of Rivers State.
Meanwhile, the Delta State government is yet to officially announce the actual amount of the minimum wage to workers, which the State Governor, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, according to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Kingsley Emu, said Wednesday gave immediate approval for the implementation of the new wage.
A dependable source who craved anonymity but was privy to the outcome of the meeting held Wednesday between Delta State government representatives and organized labour in the state told NewsNet Nigeria that both parties resolved at N77,500 new minimum wage as contained in an already prepared chart of the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS).
Civil servants in the state now await with bathed breadth the official announcement which they hope should even be above the speculated N77,500 based on the fact that Delta is currently the highest earner of federal allocation in the country.
Lagos State went ahead states in the Western part of the country when Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Wednesday night while appearing on an interview programme on Channels Television announced N85,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the state.
