Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has approved a minimum wage of N75,000 for workers in the state. 

Alia announced the approval at the state secretariat after a meeting with representatives of the organised labour in Makurdi. 

The governor in a statement by his spokesman, Tersoo Kula, noted that the remaining three months of the five-month backlog of arrears promised to the union will be paid as budgeted in the 2024 budget, along with the minimum wage, effective November 2024. 

He said, “We are implementing a new national minimum wage of seventy-five thousand naira (N75,000). We decided to set the wage at 75,000, fully aware of the other concerns raised by organised labour during the negotiations. These concerns included a minimum wage of N30,000, wage awards, transportation allowances, tax relief, and work-off days, among others. 

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“Recall that the president had approved the sum of N70,000, which we have decided to exceed, considering the concerns raised by organised labour regarding our ability to pay.”