The Rivers State Government has refuted claims that it approved an N80,000 minimum wage.
According to the statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Nelson Chukwudi, the news is “totally false and misleading.”
This clarification is intended to correct any misconceptions, particularly among the state’s civil servants.
The Rivers State Government has urged the public and civil servants to disregard the false reports spread by the online media platform.
The statement emphasized that the government will announce its stance on the minimum wage issue in due course.
The statement read, “The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to claims circulating in an online media that His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, has proposed to pay a new minimum wage of N80,000 for civil servants in the State and local government areas.
“Ordinarily, we would not have responded to this fake news, but for the wrong impression it would create in the minds of the public, especially civil servants in the State.
“Therefore, it is important to state that the unverified claims being circulated by Newsweekng.com, and titled: ‘Breaking News: Governor Fubara Proposes N80,000 minimum wage’ is totally false and misleading.
“The general public, and particularly civil servants in the State, are advised to discountenance the false claims in the online media platform.
“The Rivers State Government will make its position on the issue known in due course.”
This clarification follows an agreement between the Federal Government and organized labor, including the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress to set the new national minimum wage at N70,000.
This agreement came after prolonged disputes, with the federal, state, and private sectors proposing N62,000, while labour demanded N250,000. The previous minimum wage was N30,000.
