On November 3, 2024, an X user, @Rayyan_Tukur posted that Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has not implemented the new minimum wage payment for Ondo workers since July when it was first announced by the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government.
The post reads: “Shame on Aiyedatiwa & APC after announcing to pay a new minimum wage, despite announcing way back in July/August. Till now, no new minimum wage has been paid, just empty promises & repeated announcement.”
The post was accompanied by two screenshots of news headlines. In one, Aiyedatiwa announced that Ondo state will pay the minimum wage—dated August 6—and another report where the governor approved a 73,000 naira minimum wage for Ondo workers—dated October 12.
On July 18, President Tinubu approved a 70,000 naira minimum wage for Nigerian workers after months of negotiations with stakeholders. However, implementations have been slow at the state level. The Punch reported that some states are delaying approval for the new amount, this has made it significant to verify if Ondo state is one of those states.
VERIFICATION
Following the announcement of a New National Minimum Wage by the Federal Government, the Aiyedatiwa-led Ondo state approved the 70,000 naira new Minimum Wage for Ondo State workers. This approval was reported in August 2024.
On October 14, 2024, a statement from the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, announced that despite the fact that the federal government approved N70,000 as the new minimum wage, Ondo will be paying N73,000 to its workers. This was widely covered by The Nation, BusinessDay and PM New Nigeria.
On November 1, 2024, the governor announced that the state government would begin implementing the New Minimum Wage for civil servants in the state by the end of the month.
CONCLUSION
The Claim made by @Rayyan_Tukur is MISLEADING as Governor Aiyedatiwa did not disclose when the implementation of the new minimum wage will begin in the news reports approving 70,000 naira, or the one where it was increased to 73,000 naira. However, it was announced in early November that the new minimum wage would take effect in Ondo state later this month.
By Muzha Kucha
