Governor Umaru Bago of Niger State has authorized a new minimum wage of N80,000 for civil servants in the state, set to take effect in November.
Apparently, the governor would be the first from northern Nigeria to announce N80,000 as the minimum wage in the region.
Governor Bago reportedly disclosed this after a closed door meeting with the leadership of the organised labour in the state. He asserted that the new minimum wage is sustainable and the state intends to increase its reward for workers through its agriculture development initiatives. While the federal government and organised labour agreed to set the minimum wage workers would earn in the country at N70,000, some governors have shown that they have the capacity to pay higher than that.