Hope Uzodimma, governor of Imo state, has approved a new minimum wage of N104,000 for civil servants.
Speaking during a meeting with labour union leaders on Tuesday night at the Government House in Owerri, Uzodimma announced that the minimum wage has been increased from N76,000 to N104,000.
He said the minimum wage of doctors was also raised from N215,000 to N503,000, while that of tertiary institution teachers increased from N119,000 to N222,000.
The governor said Imo citizens had faced numerous challenges since his government took office, including insecurity, the COVID-19 pandemic, economic hardship from reform policies, and disputes over minimum wage and subsidy removal.
“There is no way any government will do well if it doesn’t have a friendly and cordial relationship with the organised labour,” NAN quoted him as saying.
“When workers are paid well, productivity rises, families are happier, and the local economy grows.
“This is our way of investing in Imo people. Government believes in stimulating political and economic activities, carrying bureaucrats along, and making sure that workers’ welfare is highly respected.”
Uzodimma said the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR) had grown from N400 million to over N3 billion monthly, adding that the state’s debt profile of over N280 billion in 2020 had reduced to less than N100 billion.
The governor said the end of the petrol subsidy regime, while worsening the cost of living in Nigeria, came with advantages.
“It is a thing of joy that we have started seeing the dividends of that bold decision of President Bola Tinubu to remove fuel subsidy,” he said.
“What government is confronted with now is how to ensure that the dividends of that policy trickle down to the common man on the street.
“Cognisant of the fact that our effort has started yielding dividends and that our IGR had improved and that reform policies of the President has also increased our allocations to sub-national governments, every responsible government must be transparent about it.”
The governor further said the state government will begin payment of the last batch of gratuities, totalling N16 billion, owed to pensioners in the state on August 27.
Responding, Uchechigemezu Nwigwe, chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, described the wage increase as a “victory for the entire workforce in the state”.
Nwigwe said Uzodimma has not only rescued workers from economic challenges with the pay hike, but has also made the state one of the highest in terms of minimum wage.
“Today, no worker in Imo will say you (Uzodimma) have not been fair to us,” he said.
Nwigwe assured the governor that workers would reciprocate the gesture with more diligent, efficient, and effective service.