It was reported that the agreement to pay N85,000 was reached during a closed-door meeting presided over by the Governor.
Days after the Lagos State government announced a N85,000 minimum wage, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has toed the same step.
A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Rivers State Governor, Nelson Chukwudi, and sent to the press revealed this detail.
It was reported that the agreement to pay N85,000 was reached during a closed-door meeting presided over by the Governor, attended by representatives of organised labour under the auspices of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Councils.
The meeting was held at the state at Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, the Head of Rivers State Civil Service, Dr George Nwaeke, who spoke on behalf of the government, said that Governor Fubara had graciously approved a new minimum wage of N85,000.00, adding that the implementation would begin in November 2024.
Nwaeke stated: “He (Fubara) has announced a figure that is higher than the National Minimum Wage. He has set a sum of N85,000.00, which is above the minimum wage prescribed nationally.
“As the Head of Service and a major stakeholder in the labour family, I am very pleased to say that Rivers State civil servants have never had it this good since the inception of this state.
“The labour union leaders and all the other major stakeholders were pleased with this development,” he added.
It was noted that issues around arrears would be worked out by the committee, “Issues of arrears will be worked out by the committee, of which I will be Deputy to the SSG. We are already preparing to work on it in a technical committee that will examine the specifics of the payment and inform the press later.”
Commending the Rivers State governor, the Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Rivers State Chapter, Alex Agwanwor, noted that the amount approved by Governor Fubara places the Rivers State Government ahead of Lagos State as the highest minimum wage-paying state for civil servants in Nigeria.
Justifying his assertion he said, “Why do I say that? Lagos State has set N85,000.00, and Rivers State is now paying N85,000.00. The IGRs of Lagos State and Rivers State are not the same. So, for the Governor to agree to pay the same rate as Lagos, it means we are at the top.
“We are the best, and we want to continue commending the governor. We assure him that, as far as this state is concerned, labour will stand with him. We will support him for the next eight years.
“I want to commend His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Rivers State, our Number One Worker in Rivers State; he has, once again, proven that the workers in Rivers State awarded him on May Day as the Champion of Labour, the Most Labour-Friendly Governor in Nigeria. He has shown that to us once again today, and I want to commend him.”
There have been continued negotiations between Labour leaders and state governments on the implementation of the recently approved N70,000 minimum wage by the Nigerian federal government.