Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State, Nigeria, has approved a new minimum wage of N70,000 for civil servants in the state. Speaking to journalists at the New Government House in Abakaliki, Nwifuru explained, “The N70,000 minimum wage is not a salary increment. It means the least payment a worker will receive is N70,000, not an increase in the salaries of all employees.”
He further directed the State Head of Service to “draft out modalities for the payment of the new minimum wage,” stating that the implementation would begin “from the day the Head of Service and the civil servants agree on the formula and present it to me.”
The Governor also reaffirmed his commitment to uphold the Supreme Court ruling on financial autonomy for local government councils. “Ebonyi State government will obey the Supreme Court ruling on Local Government financial autonomy. As it stands today, I can’t remember a day I touched Local Government resources or funds. I have never done that,” he asserted.
Nwifuru assured that his administration would allow local governments to “manage their finances and execute the projects they want to execute,” respecting their autonomy in financial matters.
