The Federal Government has announced that any employer, whether in the public or private sector, paying less than the N70,000 minimum wage will face legal consequences.
Alhaji Ismaila Abubakar, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, made this statement during the 13th Annual General Meeting of the Employers Association for Private Employment Agencies of Nigeria in Lagos State.
Represented by John Nyamali, the ministry’s Director of Employment and Wages, Abubakar explained that the new minimum wage was agreed upon by the Federal Government and organised labour to address the current economic challenges in the country.
He stressed that all Nigerian workers, regardless of their sector, should receive a minimum monthly salary of N70,000.
According to him: “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.”
