FCT, 19 States Yet to Pay New Minimum Wage — NULGE

Twenty Nigerian governors are under fire for failing to implement the N70,000 minimum wage for local government workers and primary school teachers, nearly nine months after the new wage was signed into law. Alhaji Haruna Kankara, National President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), said on Sunday that about 20 states have not commenced payment despite federal approval.

States reportedly lagging behind include Yobe, Gombe, Zamfara, Kaduna, Imo, Ebonyi, Cross River, Borno, and the Federal Capital Territory, among others. While some states have implemented the wage for state workers, they have left out local government employees and teachers. Kankara stressed that the union continues to appeal to these state governments to fulfill their obligations, noting that some previously promised to begin payments but have since reneged.

The Minimum Wage Act, signed into law by President Bola Tinubu on July 29, 2024, increased the national minimum wage by 133 percent—from N30,000 to N70,000—amidst ongoing economic hardship. Despite this, many local government workers and primary school teachers remain excluded from the new structure.

In Kwara State, local government staff began receiving the new wage in October 2024. However, state NULGE President Seun Oyinlade and NLC Chairman Muritala Olayinka revealed that heavy taxation has significantly reduced the real benefits of the wage increase. Although the state government granted a three-month tax holiday following union appeals, deductions resumed in January, with no update yet on the union’s request for an extension.

Meanwhile, some states like Sokoto have implemented the wage. Teachers and LG workers confirmed receiving the increased pay, albeit with delays tied to FAAC allocations. A worker in Sokoto reported a N50,000 addition to his previous salary, even though the earlier N30,000 minimum wage had never been implemented at the LG level.

Shockingly, data from the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) shows that many teachers in states like Zamfara, Yobe, Taraba, and Kaduna are still unpaid the previous N30,000 minimum wage introduced in 2019. Teachers across affected states have voiced frustration and called for federal intervention, with some questioning how they could expect the new wage when the old one was never honored.

In the FCT, frustration has reached boiling point. Primary school teachers and other LG workers, neglected by the FCT Administration, embarked on their fourth strike in four months on March 24, 2025. Their repeated industrial actions have disrupted academic calendars, with the latest strike affecting second-term examinations across six area councils. Teachers accuse the councils of breaching agreements, particularly the commitment to begin N70,000 wage payments in February.

A communique from the State Wing Standing Committee condemned the salary disbursement process and highlighted the increasing financial burden on teachers. The union demanded immediate wage adjustments, the release of six months’ arrears, and implementation of various allowances, including a 40 percent peculiar allowance.

Efforts to reach the National President and Secretary General of the NUT for comments were unsuccessful. However, the Secretary-General of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Mohammed Abubakar, blamed state commissioners of finance for stalling direct allocation payments to LGAs, further complicating financial flows and wage implementation.

The delay continues to spark outrage among affected workers, with unions vowing not to relent until all local government employees and teachers receive their entitled wages.