Business
Akpabio Approves N18,900 Minimum Wage
Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom has approved N18, 900, 27 kobo as minimum monthly wage in the state’s Civil Service, starting from this month.
Akpabio made the announcement in Uyo on Monday when the state’s Chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) paid him a solidarity visit and to invite him for the May Day rally.
The governor said that he had set up a committee, comprising labour and government officials to look into the issue as demanded by the NLC, adding that the outcome was the signing of the agreement.
The governor said that execution of projects by his administration would not be at the detriment of payment of salaries and emolument of workers.
“Payment of salaries and emolument of worker remain a major project. Your entitlement on a monthly basis is a project for the government.
“When I was the Commissioner for Local Government, I had to stop projects so that they could pay all the salary arrears and allowances owed the workers.
“No government can claim that it was doing projects when workers are dying of hunger and salaries are not paid. ’’
The state Chairman of the NLC, Mr Unyime Usoro, pointed out that leave grant was not consolidated as part of the minimum wage.
He argued that leave grant should not be consolidated as part of minimum wage because “the higher you consolidate, the higher the tax.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that with signing of the agreement, the issue of minimum wage has been settled in the state.