Anambra State Commissioner of Information, Dr. Law Mefor has clarified that Governor Chukwuma Soludo has no immediate plan to adjust upwards the minimum wage of N82,000 being paid the civil servants in the state.
Mefor, however, said that the governor would not hesitate to raise the minimum wage whenever it becomes necessary to do so.
The Commissioner made the clarification in response to LEADERSHIP correspondent’s inquiry about the state emulating Governors Hope Uzodinma and Francis Nwifuru of Imo and Ebonyi who recently increased the minimum wage of their civil servants.
Mefor said, “We started paying N82,000 when most states hadn’t started paying even the new minimum wage and added N10,000 to all pensioners which no state has done.
“Soludo remains a very workers- friendly governor. Once further increases become necessary in the state, you can be sure Governor Soludo won’t hesitate or wait for persuasions to give workers in the state another raise”, the Commissioner stated.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, Comrade Humphrey Nwafor said although workers have not approached the governor to appeal for an upward review of the current minimum wage, the Council was perfecting plans to engage the state government to make the demand.
“We have not engaged him on that but we have plans to engage him to make the demand,” Nwafor said.
