The Peoples Democratic Party, Sokoto State chapter, has called on the Ahmed Aliyu-led government to take steps towards the implementation of the new national minimum wage of N70,000 for the state’s workforce.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of the party in Sokoto State, Hassan Sanyinnawal, and made available to newsmen on Friday.
He said, “With the signing of the new minimum wage by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 29 July 2024, it is incumbent upon the government to hasten its implementation.
“This remains the only way to incentivise the state’s civil servants towards productivity, especially in view of the hardships they face due to the cost of living crisis in the country.”
He questioned why the Ahmed Aliyu-led government would hesitate to implement the new wage despite its widely advertised commitment to the welfare of the state’s civil servants.
He added, “Sokoto State government should have ‘led the pack’ in the payment of the new wage, as some states, such as Kebbi, Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Kwara, Adamawa, Gombe, Delta, Rivers, Enugu, Kogi, Anambra, Ebonyi, Ondo, and Abia, among others, have either settled on N70,000 or more than that as minimum wage for their civil servants, effective from October 2024.
“No maximum productivity can be reaped from the state’s civil servants under the current atmosphere, which is characterised by low morale, as most of them cannot reach their workplaces due to skyrocketing transport fares.”
The PDP also urged the state chapter of the NLC to be more proactive in fulfilling its core mandate, noting that it has rarely been vocal about the struggles for the new minimum wage for the state’s workers.
Efforts to speak with the state Commissioner for Information, Bello Danchadi, were unsuccessful as his number was not available at the time of publication.
