Rivers Government Denies Approving N80,000 Minimum Wage

The Rivers State Government has refuted reports claiming it approved an N80,000 minimum wage.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Nelson Chukwudi, the government clarified that the news is “totally false and misleading.”

The statement was issued to correct any misconceptions, especially among civil servants in the state. The Rivers State Government urged the public and civil servants to disregard the false claims made by the online media platform.

According to the statement, the Rivers State Government will announce its official position on the matter 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’ are 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 follows the recent agreement between the Federal Government and organized labor, comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), to set the new national minimum wage at N70,000 after months of disagreement. Previously, the minimum wage was N30,000.