News
A’Ibom gov okays N80, 000 minimum wage payment
By Francesca Hangeior
Akwa Ibom State governor, Umo Eno, has directed the Office of the Accountant General of the state to implement the N80, 000 minimum wage to about 45,984 verified public servants in the state this January.
The payment will take effect on November 1, 2024, according to the press statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Ekerete Udoh.
Udoh said the development followed the submission of the report by the Committee on the Implementation of the New Minimum Wage/Personnel Verification, headed by the Head of Service, Elder Effiong Essien, on Tuesday.
The governor, while thanking the Committee for the great work, called for an extension of the exercise to the retired workers’ Pension Schemes in the state.
“Let me thank the Committee for taking the time to deliver on this assignment. As I received this report today, my understanding is that before now, we had a staff strength of 55,120. Out of that, 52,177 persons turned out for the verification exercise, so we still have an outstanding number of 2,943 personnel who did not show up, while 6,193 have issues with their verification.
“Having received this report today, I will be signing this off to the Office of the Accountant General, Auditor General, and the Director of Budget to come up with the memo that they are ready to implement.
“For those who have been cleared—about 45,984 of them—we should be ready to pay the minimum wage at the end of this month, effective from November 1, 2024.
“The Civil Service forms a critical mass of employees in our state government. Since we came on board, their welfare has remained a key priority, and we will continue to do so. I believe this will help ameliorate the harsh economic environment we have found ourselves in, and I hope, by the grace of God, slowly, we will find our way out of it very soon.
“For the people who are yet to be verified, we will give another 30 days. After that, we will end the exercise. If they don’t show up within the time specified, we will take it that they are not civil servants, and their salaries will be stopped.
“We want to extend our hand of fellowship to the organized labour in the state and ask them to work with the government, as we all have a responsibility to Akwa Ibom State. We have done a lot to engender good government-labour relations. Since we came on board, we have paid over 47 billion in gratuities from the over 97 billion backlog we met since 2012, as well as several palliatives to the workers and people of Akwa Ibom State.” Eno said
He said he had accepted the recommendation of the Committee that the verification exercise should be done on a yearly basis. “I have received your recommendation that this exercise should be done on a yearly basis, and I think we will do so.
“Another area we will run verification is the pension payments. If what we uncovered can happen with serving personnel, then you can imagine what may be happening where people have unfortunately passed and are still being paid. We need to quickly carry out the verification exercise in that area too. So I am not dissolving the Committee now; we will extend the life of the Committee for another month.”
The Implementation Committee on the Minimum Wage was set up by Governor Eno last December to ensure a smooth rollout of the newly announced 80 thousand minimum wage.
“It had as Chairman, the Head of Service; Chairman, Civil Service Commission; Chairman, Local Government Service Commission; Permanent Secretaries; Ministries of Finance; Department of Establishments, Labour, and Manpower Planning; Solicitor General/Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Permanent Secretary and Accountant General; Permanent Secretary, Local Government Service Commission; Permanent Secretary, Office of the Head of Service; Director of Budget; State Chairman, Joint Public Service Negotiating Council; Secretary, Joint Public Sector Negotiating Council; State Chairmen, Nigerian Labour Congress; and State President, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees.
Members of the Enugu State Caucus of Peoples Democratic Party, ( PDP) in the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Nnolim Nnaji , Rt. Hon. Martins Oke and Hon Anayo Onwuegbu have welcomed Rt. Hon. Dennis Agbo and Hon. Chidi Mark Obeta of Labour Party, (LP) to the PDP fold.
They observed that the visionary leadership of Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mba in Enugu State has ignited massive decamps and unprecedented upsurge of membership of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) in the state.
The caucus in a statement issued after the two members of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Dennis Agbo of Igboeze North/ Udenu and Chidi Mark Obeta who represents Nsukka/Igboeze South formally announced their transfer of membership to PDP at the resumption of House plenary on Tuesday said it was gladdening to receive them into the PDP fold.
They stressed that PDP in Enugu State was witnessing a great rebirth as a result of the transformative development agenda being unleashed in various sectors of the economy of the state by Governor Mba which has received global commendations.
The Enugu State caucus Leader, Rt. Hon. Nnolim Nnaji on behalf of the members further noted that Governor Mba’s investments in infrastructure, agro economy, and security among others have made Enugu State a tourist’s haven adding that with the good governance structure he has put in place, his second tenure would be a walkover.
Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Emomotimi Guwor, along with twenty-one other former members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), elected into the Assembly has officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), following a major realignment of political stakeholders across the state.
The defection of the twenty-two lawmakers has effectively transformed the Delta State House of Assembly into a one-party legislature, as the remaining seven members were originally elected on the ticket of the APC.
Announcing the development on Tuesday during the resumption of plenary after the Easter break, the Speaker stated that the decision was the result of extensive consultations with their constituents and political leaders throughout the state.
He emphasized that the move aligned with Section 109 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
While expressing appreciation to members for their contributions so far, Guwor urged the House to ensure the completion of all pending bills as the second legislative session nears its end.
He noted that the political shift towards the APC was in response to the realignment of stakeholders and the desire to align with the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership.
“The mass defection of members of the Peoples Democratic Party, led by Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, to the All Progressives Congress was made in the overall interest of Deltans and the state,” the Speaker said.
He explained that the decision followed extensive consultations held on April 23 and which cumulated on the official reception on April 28, 2025, at the Government House and the Cenotaph, respectively.
He said: “We are fully committed to partnering with the Federal Government to deliver greater development to Deltans.
“On behalf of the House, I commend the courage and visionary leadership of our Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, in making this strategic and timely decision.
“As a legislative body, we stand with His Excellency in this endeavour. This renewed partnership between the state and Federal Government must be supported and allowed to flourish, so that we can begin to enjoy its benefits in the shortest possible time.”
He informed the House that he had received twenty-two letters (including his own) notifying of the change of party affiliation from the PDP to the APC.
The defection, he said, was driven by instability within the PDP’s national leadership and factional divisions within the South-South Zonal Executive Committee, leading to internal conflicts and disunity within the party.
Citing Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Speaker affirmed the constitutional basis for the defection.
“With this action, the Delta State House of Assembly is now composed entirely of members from the All Progressives Congress. We thank our constituents for endorsing this progressive course of action”.
A motion to adopt the letters of party change was moved by the Majority Leader, Hon. Emeka Nwaobi, and seconded by Hon. Ferguson Onwo, who represents Isoko South II.
Speaking to journalists after the plenary, the Majority Leader, Hon Emeka Nwaobi reiterated that the defection was prompted by the crisis within the PDP.
“Our decision was based on the instability at the national level and the factionalization at the South-South level. Consequently, we chose to move to the ruling All Progressives Congress, in accordance with Section 109 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended,” he said.
-
Opinion6 hours agoRIVERS, WIKE, FUBARA, AND THE WAY FORWARD
-
Politics5 hours agoJust in: Delta PDP Reps members defect to APC
-
News16 hours agoMinistry denies awarding N13bn contracts without due process
-
News16 hours agoFULL STEPS: How to check 2025 JAMB results
-
News10 hours agoVDM may be released on Tuesday
-
News16 hours agoCourt halts Abuja multi-million naira market project
-
News7 hours agoCourt bans Nnamdi Kanu’s in-law from 3 proceedings over live streaming
-
News7 hours agoNANS Barricades Lagos-Ibadan Expressway Over Alleged NELFUND Mismanagement