The N70,000 minimum pay is a requirement set by the Federal Government, and any deviation from this by hiring agencies for the private sector would not be accepted.
This was made known by Alhaji Ismaila Abubakar, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment at the Employers Association for Private Employment Agencies of Nigeria’s 13th Annual General Meeting, held in Ikeja, Lagos, .
The FG emphasized that no Nigerian worker, whether in government or private employment, should be paid less than the minimum wage, claiming that the new minimum wage is required to address the current economic realities.
Abubakar, who was represented by the Director of Employment and Wages of the ministry, John Nyamali, said, “The minimum wage is now a law, and as a result, it is a punishable crime for any employer to pay less than N70,000 to any of its workers.
“The private employment agencies should make it compulsory in any contract they take from their principal that their workers should not earn less than the minimum wage. The least paid worker in Nigeria should earn N70,000, and I think that should be after all deductions.
“The minimum wage is a law, and you can be jailed if you fail to implement it. The Federal Government is committed to ensuring that the least paid worker goes home with N70,000.”
Dr. Olufemi Ogunlowo, President of the Employers Association for Private Employment Agencies of Nigeria, stated in his remarks that all ambiguities in the Act should be highlighted and explained.
He asked the government and Nigeria Labour Congress to clarify whether the N70,000 minimum wage is net or gross. Ogunlowo claimed that the EAPEAN is already committed to upholding the minimum wage, giving Nigerians respectable employment, and preventing the exploitation of human resources.
Also speaking at the programme, the Chairperson of the NLC, Lagos State Council, Funmilayo Sessi, said the prevailing hardship had made a mess of whatever income any worker was earning in Nigeria, calling on private employers to ensure the payment of the N70,000 minimum wage.
