Lagos approves N85,000 minimum wage for workers

Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has disclosed that the State plans to pay workers a minimum wage of N85,000, which is N15,000 higher than the N70,000 approved by the Federal Government in July.

Sanwo-Olu announced this during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.

The Governor said the State is not paying N85,000 to compete with others but because it has the capacity to do so.

“I am glad to let you know that the minimum wage for Lagos which we conversed and discussed with our union is N85,000 today,” Sanwo-Olu said on the programme.

“It is not a competition, so I am not going to say we are paying more than some other people, it is a function of affordability and it is a function of capacity, but we know too well that when people live in Lagos, Lagos has a premium in terms of even the cost of living, we are fully aware.”

Sanwo-Olu said he would be glad to come on air in January 2025 to announce that his government would be paying N100,000 minimum wage.

“We actually increased our salary earlier in the year and it’s deserving for our staff, and we’ll continue to do that. I want to come back to you in January and say that I’ve been able to increase the minimum wage in Lagos to N100,000. (This is) not because I want to make anybody look bad, it’s really because I want my people to have a living wage,” Sanwo-Olu said.