IMO State Governor Hope Uzodimma has approved a new minimum wage of N104,000 for the state civil servants.

The governor announced the increment during a meeting with labour union leaders Tuesday night at the Government House, Owerri.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the minimum wage was raised from N76,000 to N104,000. Also adjusted were the salaries of doctors, which increased from N215,000 to N503,000, and those of tertiary institution lecturers, from N119,000 to N222,000, among others.

Uzodimma said the decision was part of his administration’s commitment to improving workers’ welfare despite challenges such as insecurity, COVID-19, economic reforms, and subsidy removal.

“When workers are paid well, productivity rises, families are happier, and the local economy grows. This is our way of investing in Imo people,” the governor said.

He disclosed that the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) had risen from N400 million to over N3 billion monthly, while federal allocations had increased from about N7 billion in 2020 to N14 billion. The state’s debt profile, he added, had reduced from over N280 billion to less than N100 billion.

Uzodimma further revealed that the government would begin payment of the last batch of gratuities, amounting to N16 billion, to pensioners from August 27. He also highlighted reforms in the health sector, including the launch of a health insurance scheme and equipping hospitals for improved service delivery.

The governor urged workers to maintain ethical standards and shun redundancy, while calling on labour unions to sustain cordial relations with the government.

Responding, the Imo State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Uchechigemezu Nwigwe, hailed the development as “a victory for the entire workforce in the state.”

“Today, no worker in Imo will say you have not been fair to us,” Nwigwe told the governor, pledging workers’ continued diligence and efficiency.

Also speaking, the state Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Uchenna Ibe, lauded Uzodimma’s “political will” in embarking on people-oriented policies, including the new wage increase.

With the new pay structure, Imo becomes one of the states offering the highest minimum wage to workers in Nigeria.

The ICIR reports that the decision came less than two months after the NLC national leadership joined the state chapter of the group to protest alleged poor welfare for workers by the Nzodimma’s government.

The NLC president was reportedly brutalised and arrested during the protest.

He said many of the state workers had died because of non-payment of their salaries by the state government.

He listed some of Uzodimma’s alleged offences against its employees as the purported inability to implement prior agreements; unpaid salary arrears of nearly two years; labelling of employees as ghost workers; and due gratuity arrears, among others.

Ajaero also complained about the state government’s noncompliance with the federal minimum wage, stating that Uzodinma had opposed the use of dialogue and collective bargaining to address the problems.