Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has mandated the chairpersons of all 27 Local Government Areas (LGAs) to commence immediate implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage for local government employees.
This directive was issued during a strategic meeting held on Sunday at the Government House in Maiduguri, where the governor met with representatives from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).
Zulum emphasized the need for each LGA chairman to return to their respective jurisdictions, engage key stakeholders, and devise sustainable plans for addressing salary-related issues at the grassroots level.
State Workers Already Receiving New Wage
The governor clarified that the N72,000 minimum wage had already been fully adopted for state civil servants, including all primary school teachers. He stressed, however, that no local government should resort to downsizing staff as a way to cope with salary obligations.
“We are not in support of staff retrenchment at the local government level,” Zulum stated.
“I direct you to institute a mechanism that will lead to the implementation of the minimum wage. I appeal to local government workers to be patient as we work closely with all 27 local government areas to ensure this is achieved.”
Overstaffing Poses Challenge
Speaking at the meeting, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Modu Alhaji Mustapha, explained that an excessively large workforce remains the major obstacle to full implementation of the new wage.
He noted that Borno’s LGAs collectively employ around 90,000 staff—three times the workforce of Kano State, which operates with only 30,000 staff across 44 LGAs despite its larger population.
“Our LGAs are overstretched,” Mustapha said.
“For example, Maiduguri Metropolitan Council receives less than N700 million as allocation from the Federation Account, yet it requires N778 million to pay salaries at the N70,000 minimum wage rate.
This leaves nothing for other critical services like health, water supply, security, and infrastructure.”
Labour Leaders Applaud Government Efforts
The Borno State Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Yusuf Inuwa, praised the government’s proactive steps, particularly the implementation of the N72,000 wage for primary school teachers. He highlighted that the state’s efforts have been recognized at national labour meetings.
“Borno is recognized at national executive meetings as one of the few states paying the approved wage to teachers at the primary level,” Inuwa said,
noting that the state had earned commendation from the union’s national leadership.
The meeting ended with a collective commitment from both government and labour representatives to collaborate in finding lasting solutions to the financial challenges affecting local government workers.
