Months after approval, 9 states yet to implement N70,000 minimum wage for teachers

Despite the official signing of the new ₦70,000 minimum wage into law by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on July 29, 2024, nine states across Nigeria have yet to implement the policy for teachers, months after its approval.

The delay was revealed in data obtained exclusively from the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) on Sunday, raising concerns over state-level compliance with federal wage legislation aimed at improving the welfare of educators nationwide.

The minimum wage bill, passed by the National Assembly on July 23, 2024, was hailed as a milestone achievement in the fight for fair compensation for public sector workers, especially teachers who have long decried poor remuneration and working conditions.

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Recently, teachers across the Federal Capital Territory embarked on an over 100-day strike due to the failure of Area Councils to implement the minimum wage for teachers.

In October 2024, The PUNCH exclusively reported that 12 states of the federation were still paying teachers, especially those under the employment of the local government, N18,000 minimum wage.

The development means the teachers in the 12 states, as of October 2024, were receiving the old N18,000 minimum wage and had not even enjoyed the N30,000 approved by the late President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to the data obtained from the NUT on Sunday, Abia State has yet to implement the minimum wage for teachers.

In Adamawa, though the state had migrated from the N18,000 minimum wage to N30,000 approved by the late President Buhari, teachers were yet to enjoy the new minimum wage of N70,000.

In Ebonyi State, the minimum wage for teachers was yet to be implemented.

For Enugu, the NUT said the minimum wage had not been implemented, although the state government added N50,000 to the salaries of workers, including teachers, and labelled it an enhanced wage award.

In Gombe, the data from the NUT revealed that the minimum wage had not been implemented for primary school teachers.

In Kaduna State, the government blamed non-implementation on teachers’ verification exercise.

In Nasarawa, Yobe, and Zamfara states, the minimum wage was yet to be implemented for teachers, according to the NUT data.

The FCT teachers recently called off strike, after the area council chairmen agreed to a slash of their internally generated revenue to pay the teachers.

Speaking on the data, the NUT urged states not yet implementing the N70,000 minimum wage to start without further delay.

The union also asked states implementing the new wage to let it reach all categories of teachers.

“Let the minimum wage reach all workers so everyone will feel a part of it.

“It is unfair for those not getting the higher wage and it will affect the balance of education delivery,” the national president of the NUT, Titus Amba, said.

(Punch)