Lagos Governor Sanwo-Olu under fire over N85,000 minimum wage, details emerge

• Lagos-based Labour Party chieftain Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has criticised Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu's government over N85 minimum wage
• Rhodes-Vivour insisted that the amount announced by Sanwo-Olu will not make a difference in the lives of Lagos state workers considering the current economic situation
• In a post shared on his X page, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour suggested that a N100,000 would suffice in this difficult time

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, the 2023 governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos state, has commended Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for increasing the state’s minimum wage to N85,000.

Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour speaks on N85k minimum wage for Lagos workers. Photo credit: Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Source: Facebook

Recall that Governor Sanwo-Olu announced that the minimum wage for civil servants in the state has been set at N85,000.

Sanwo-Olu aid his government will increase the minimum wage of Lagos to N100,000 by January 2025.

The governor made this announcement in an interview with Channels Television on Wednesday, October 16.

Why N85,000 is not enough for Lagos workers

Reacting, Rhodes-Vivour, however, noted that the new minimum wage is insufficient to cater the high cost of living in the state.

He stated this in a post shared on his X page on Thursday, October 18.

Rhodes-Vivour highlighted that the city has the highest intra-city public transportation costs in Nigeria, particularly for motorcycle rides. Additionally, Lagos ranks second nationally in the average cost of a healthy diet, making it the second most expensive city in the country for food.

The Labour Party chieftain tweeted:

"While the recent increase in the minimum wage to N85,000 is a step in the right direction, it's important to note that this amount falls significantly short of addressing the unique cost-of-living challenges faced by Lagos workers."Given these factors, a minimum wage of at least N100,000 is necessary for Lagos workers to achieve parity with their counterparts in other states."Governor Sanwo-Olu boasts of increasing the Lagos budget from N600 billion to over N1 trillion, with a projected N3 trillion before his term ends. He also claims a 94% budget performance rate. However, these claims seem to be at odds with the reality of Lagos. The city still grapples with poor infrastructure, low investment in human capital and education outcomes, a struggling public transportation network, increasing slums and informal communities, and very few social welfare programs. These are the issues that truly matter to the people of Lagos, not just the size of the budget."

Read more about minimum wage here:

• Minimum wage: Ekiti Governor Oyebanji announces payment
• Full list: Sanwo-Olu, other governors who announced more than N70k minimum wage
• Minimum wage: Gombe ready to pay workers N70,000 salary

N70K minimum wage: Yobe govt sets-up implementation committee

In another development, Legit.ng reported that Yobe Governor Mai Mala Buni has expressed readiness to pay workers in the state the newly approved N70,000 minimum wage.

To achieve this, Governor Buni approved the constitution of a 10-member committee to oversee the payment of the new national minimum wage.

The Head of Civil Service in the state, Hamidu M. Alhaji, confirmed the development in a statement on Thursday and shared further details.

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Source: Legit.ng