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N70,000 Minimum Wage States’ Salaries Rise By 90% To N3.8trn

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The amount budgeted for personnel costs, including salaries and allowances to state civil servants, has increased from N2.036trillion spent in 2024 to N3.87trillion in the approved 2025 budget.
Although the 36 sub-national allocated a total sum of N2.8tn as salaries costs, it only paid out a total of N2.036trillion within the 12 months of 2024, a reduction of N764billion, according to its budget implementation report.
According to data obtained from the 2025 approved budget of the 36 state governments, the increase occasioned by the implementation of the newly approved N70,000 minimum wage and spiralling political appointments reflects an increase of nearly 90.23 per cent.
The approved budgets are also contained in Open States, a BudgIT-backed website that serves as a repository of government budget data.
The budget report also indicated that at least 27 states of the federation would not be able to pay workers’ salaries this year without having to wait for federal allocations from the central government.
In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu officially approved a significant increase in the minimum wage for Nigerian workers, raising it from N30,000 to N70,000.
This decision came after several months of rigorous discussions and negotiations between the government and labour unions.
However, the implementation of this wage increase has been gradual across the country, with some states still yet to adopt the new minimum wage.
In response to this delay, the Nigerian Labour Congress issued a stern ultimatum to state governments, demanding that they fully implement the new wage structure by December 1, 2024.
Despite this pressure, several states have yet to initiate the payment of the revised minimum wage, further prolonging the financial relief workers were expecting.
An in-depth analysis of the budget document revealed significant variations in personnel costs across states: 20 states saw an increase in personnel expenses exceeding 50 per cent, while 16 states experienced a more modest rise, with salary increases remaining below the 50 per cent threshold.
A further breakdown showed that Abia, Cross Rivers, Ekiti, Niger, Rivers, and Taraba states got the highest increase in its payroll, exceeding 100 per cent of its 2024 personnel cost budget. While Gombe, Osun and Ondo got the lowest salary increase percentage, scoring below 15 per cent.
In a detailed examination of the salary increases across each state, Abia approved a notable increase in its personnel costs, with an escalation from N33.045billion to N77.34billion, representing a 134 per cent increase. Similarly, Adamawa’s personnel cost rose from N48.61billion to N74.23billion, marking a 52.7 per cent increase.
In Akwa Ibom, a sharp surge from N91.74bn to N126.69bn was approved, representing an impressive 38.1 per cent growth.
Anambra state, under Governor Charles Soludo, also approved a significant rise from N34.001bn to N63.41bn, indicating an 86.45 per cent increase.
Bauchi followed suit with an increase from N42.29bn to N70.41bn, showcasing an uplift of approximately 66.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, Bayelsa saw its personnel costs climb from N60.18bn to N114.21bn, a rise of over 89 per cent, signalling an emphasis on investing in its workforce.
In Cross River, the personnel cost grew sharply from N35.02bn to N106.12bn, reflecting a 202 per cent increase, one of the highest among the states. Delta also recorded a notable surge in its expenditure from N139.999bn to N185bn, signalling a growth of about 32.5 per cent.
Ebonyi followed with an increase from N23.076bn to N36.66bn, growing by 58.9 per cent.
Edo with its leap from N74.58bn to N101.29bn, reflected a 35.8 per cent increase, while Ekiti registered a substantial rise from N30.69bn to N62.51bn, almost doubling its personnel cost.
Enugu also saw a substantial rise from N47.988bn to N70.954bn, an increase of 48 per cent.
However, Gombe stood out with a negligible decrease in personnel costs, falling from N40.52bn to N40.28bn, a small dip of just 0.6 per cent.
On the other hand, Imo saw an increase from N41.92bn to N67.4bn, showing an upward trend of 60.9 per cent.
Jigawa experienced a jump from N51.445bn to N90.73bn, an increase of 76.4 per cent, while Kaduna’s personnel costs grew by 23.4 per cent from N68.010bn to N83.94bn.
Kano, one of the largest increases in this analysis, saw its personnel costs skyrocket from N89.97bn to a staggering N150.996bn, an impressive 67.8 per cent rise.
Katsina, which saw an increase from N29.69bn to N58.62bn, experienced a growth rate of 97.6 per cent. In Kogi, the personnel budget grew from N64.798bn to N109.96bn, an increase of 69.8 per cent.
Kwara followed a similar trend, rising from N51.045bn to N69.152bn, a growth of 35.5 per cent.
The largest increase came from Lagos, which saw its personnel costs more than double, from N225.114bn to N401.12bn.
In Nasarawa, personnel costs increased from N48.704bn to N80.456bn, a 65.2 per cent rise, while Niger recorded an even larger leap, from N25.36bn to N104.301bn, reflecting a growth of 311.5 per cent. Ondo saw an increase from N75.96bn to N139.726bn, an uplift of 83.9 per cent, while Osun also registered a significant rise from N55.571bn to N102.89bn, an 85.1 per cent increase.
Oyo experienced a massive increase, with personnel costs rising from N116.207 bn to N214.116bn, an 84.3 per cent increase.
Similarly, Plateau saw its personnel expenditure climb from N38.963bn to N67.144bn, marking a 72.5 per cent increase.
Rivers State, under Governor Siminalayi Fubara, recorded a staggering rise from N167.05bn to N343.196bn, a 105.6 per cent increase.
Sokoto also saw a substantial increase, from N55.32bn to N64.711bn, a 17 per cent rise.
Taraba experienced a significant increase from N36.319bn to N95.23bn, a 162 per cent rise, while Yobe recorded a 34 per cent increase, growing from N47.95bn to N64.12bn.
Zamfara saw a moderate increase, with personnel costs rising from N34.21bn to N58.38bn, a growth of 70.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, the substantial increase in salaries and allowances across various states has introduced a new set of challenges.
With the sharp rise in personnel costs, at least 27 states of the federation now face the stark reality that they will be unable to meet their payroll obligations without relying heavily on federal allocations from the central government.
This means only 9 out of the 36 state governments of the federation can independently pay their workers’ salaries without depending on federal allocations.
This is an increase from 24 states that couldn’t pay salaries without federal allocation in 2024, according to an analysis of the state governments’ approved budgets for the 2024 fiscal year.
The states with robust internal revenue are Lagos, Abia, Benue, Enugu, Ogun, Niger Kaduna, Kwara, and Osun.
According to the analysis of the budget data, 27 states cannot fund salary payments from their internally generated Revenue and, as such, may have to rely on Federal Government allocations or borrowing from banks and related institutions.
The development also means that the respective wage bills of the affected states surpassed their various IGRs, raising concerns about workers’ productivity and state governments’ efficiency in internal revenue generation.
Speaking with The Tide’s the economist noted that the latest data further stress the need to reduce the cost of governance across the country.
Commenting, the director and CEO of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Muda Yusuf, noted that there are several arguments for the state’s low revenue generation and its bloated civil service workforce.
He said, “The IGR thing, first of all, we need to recognize that there are big disparities in the natural endowment of the states. Not all states are equally endowed. You know, you can’t compare a state that is a coastal state like Lagos or Delta where you have a lot of oil companies, and they pay taxes through P.A.Y.E.
“If you take a state like Jigawa or a state like Gombe or a state like Kogi, most of the businesses there are SMEs. Most of them are agricultural businesses because most of them are farmers. How much IGR can you get from these people? So what you discover invariably is that the IGR that they get in those states are only from the salaries of the workers.

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FG Ends Passport Production At Multiple Centres After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.

Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this yesterday while inspecting Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja.

He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.

“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.

He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.

“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.

 “We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.

“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.

He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.

Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.

He said the centralised production system aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for better service delivery.

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FAAC Disburses N2.225trn For August, Highest In Nigeria

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The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed N2.225 trillion as federation revenue for the month of August 2025, the highest ever allocation to the three tiers of government and other statutory recipients.

This marks the second consecutive month that FAAC disbursements have crossed the N2 trillion mark.

The revenue, shared at the August 2025 FAAC meeting in Abuja, was buoyed by increases in oil and gas royalty, value-added tax (VAT), and common external tariff (CET) levies, according to a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting.

Out of the N2.225 trillion total distributable revenue, FAAC said N1,478.593 trillion came from statutory revenue, N672.903 billion from VAT, N32.338 billion from the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and N41.284 billion from Exchange Difference.

The communiqué revealed that gross federation revenue for the month stood at N3.635 trillion. From this amount, N124.839 billion was deducted as cost of collection, while N1,285.845 trillion was set aside for transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings.

From the statutory revenue of N1.478 trillion, the Federal Government received N684.462 billion, State Governments received N347.168 billion, and Local Government Councils received N267.652 billion. A further N179.311 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) went to oil-producing states as derivation revenue.

From the distributable VAT revenue of N672.903 billion, the Federal Government received N100.935 billion, the states received N336.452 billion, while the local governments got N235.516 billion.

Of the N32.338 billion shared from EMTL, the Federal Government received N4.851 billion, the States received N16.169 billion, and the Local Governments received N11.318 billion.

From the N41.284 billion exchange difference, the Federal Government received N19.799 billion, the states received N10.042 billion, and the local governments received N7.742 billion, while N3.701 billion (13 per cent of mineral revenue) was shared to the oil-producing states as derivation.

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KenPoly Governing Council Decries Inadequate Power Supply, Poor Infrastructure On Campus

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The Governing Council of Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori, has decried the inadequate power supply and poor state of infrastructural facilities and equipment at the institution.

The Council also appealed to the government, including Non-Governmental Organisations, agencies, as well as well-meaning Rivers people to intervene to restore and sustain the laudable gesture, dreams and aspirations of the founding fathers of the polytechnic.

The Chairman of the newly inaugurated Council, Professor Friday B. Sigalo, made this appeal during a tour of facilities at the  Polytechnic, recently.

Accompanied by members of the team, Prof Sigalo emphasised the position of technology, technical and vocational education in sustainable development.

He noted that with the prospects on ground, and the programmes and activities undertaken in the polytechnic, there is no doubt that the institution would add values to the educational system in our society and foster the desired development, if the existing challenges are jointly tackled.

This was contained in a statement signed by Deputy Registrar, Public Relations, Kenpoly,  Innocent Ogbonda-Nwanwu, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt.

The chairman who restated the intention of his team of technocrats to ensure that KenPoly enjoys desirable face-lift, said the Council would deliver on its core mandates, accordingly.

Earlier, the Rector, KenPoly Engr. Dr. Ledum S. Gwarah, commended the appointment of Professor Friday B. Sigalo as Chairman of the KenPoly Governing Council.

He described him and his team as seasoned technocrats and expressed confidence in their ability to succeed.

The Rector pledged the management’s support to the Council to ensure that KenPoly resumes its rightful place in the comity of polytechnics in the country.

Facilities visited by the Governing Council include KenPoly workshops, laboratories, skills acquisition centre, library, hostels and medical centre.

 

Chinedu Wosu

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