As soon as governors in many states in Nigeria announced that their staff members would be receiving pay increases, widespread celebrations broke out.
At the Workers Day celebrations held at Pa Oruta Ngele Stadium in Abakaliki on May 1, 2024, Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State announced a N10,000 increase in state employees’ monthly pay.
Governor Nwifuru recently implemented a compensation rise, after one of a similar nature, immediately after taking office.
Nwifuru recognized civil servants as important developers in his Workers Day speech.
He vowed that his administration would continue to support industrial peace and a favorable work environment, both of which he said are critical to raising worker productivity and advancing efficient government.
Concurrently, Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu announced a new N40,000 minimum salary for state employees, claiming that this change would ease the current financial hardships.
He said this while in attendance at the Workers Day celebration held at Calabar’s U.J. Esuene Stadium.
Governor Otu acknowledged that workers contribute only five percent of the total to the economy, but he underlined the need to prioritize employee pay and pensions.
He used Cross River State’s particular financial limitations—a low federal allocation and a difficult ratio of state GDP to debt service—to defend the wage rise.
Nigerians’ responses to the governors’ decisions have been highly vocal on social media.
