By ABIODUN LAWAL

Gov. Dapo Abiodun of Ogun has approved N77,000 as the minimum wage for the lowest worker in the state, with the payment taking immediate effect.

This is was disclosed in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Lekan Adeniran, on Monday in Abeokuta.

According to the statement, the decision was revealed after a meeting of the state government led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Tokunbo Talabi, and the leadership of the organised labour in the state.

The organised labour at the meeting comprised of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Joint Negotiating Council (JNC).

Talabi said that the meeting was at the instance of the governor, who he said had directed that no worker in the state should earn less than N77,000, starting from October.

The SSG stated that the governor meant well for the people of the state and had proactively taken steps to further ameliorate the suffering of the people.

He added that the governor had also advised the organised private sector to take a cue from the policy, as their workers were not exempted from the economic realities in the country.

The SSG noted that the governor had therefore advised that the private sector should dialogue with their relevant stakeholders to arrive at a commensurate minimum wage for the sector.

?The governor promised to set up a monitoring team to see how it is implemented by the private sector to ensure no one is short-changed,? he said.

On his part, the state NLC Chairman, Hameed Benco, said the organised labour in the state was pleased with the governor having approved the N77,000 in consultation with union leaders.

Benco stated that the minimum wage remained the highest in the country today, adding that the other sectorial salaries would be affected accordingly.

He also mentioned that government had graciously approved the submission of labour that the new basic salary should not be taxed. (NAN)

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