Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been commended for the approving N85,000 minimum wage for the state workers.
Civil society group, Pan African Society for Social and Economic Change made this known during a press conference on Thursday in Lagos, saying that the approval is a right step in the right direction.
The Executive Director of the group, Basah Mohammed said that the pronouncement was a welcome development at the critical time of the nation’s economy. Added that his actions aligned with the rule of law and insisted that the welfare of workers is an essential part of the social contract.
“We thank Gov. Sanwo-Olu for upholding the rule of law to pay N85,000. The Rule of Law is implementing the Constitution of the Country, eradicating corruption, and promoting the Social contract between the government and people.”
Adding that “the welfare of workers is an essential part of the social contract, it is a cardinal aspect of it. The approval granted by the Governor to pay #85,000 is commendable,” He said.
Furthermore, Mohammed disclosed that” “The state governor knows the peculiarities of Lagos in transportation, accommodation, utility, and feeding; the workers and Lagosians pay more on all these.
“The N85,000 minimum wage is a welcome development and very much anticipated.
“This is a state that sets the pace for other states in Nigeria; the center of excellence, land of aquatic splendour, a cosmopolitan state, the economic hub of this country.
“We must thank the governor for wisdom in understanding that people who work in Lagos deserve a better wage,” he said.
It will be recalled Gov. Sanwo-Olu, made disclosed that Lagos state will pay N85,000 minimum wage to its workers, which is N15,000 higher than the N70,000 approved by the Federal Government in July during an interview on Channels Television earlier in the week.
Sanwo-Olu during the interview said that he wanted the people to know “that their government is working for them.
“It is not a competition, so I am not going to say we are paying more than some other people, it is a function of affordability and it is a function of capacity, but we know too well that when people live in Lagos, Lagos has a premium in terms of even the cost of living, we are fully aware.”