Umar Namadi, governor of Jigawa, has suspended Bashir Ado, his special adviser on salary and pensions, over a “premature statement” on implementation of the N70,000 new minimum wage.
Bala Ibrahim, secretary to the state government, disclosed this on Saturday in a statement.
Ibrahim said the government “viewed with serious concern, a statement circulating in various sections of the media alleging that the governor has approved N70,000 as new minimum wage for workers in the state”.
“This sounds embarrassing and pre-mature as the committee headed by Head of the State Civil Service, set up by the Government to advise on the appropriate wage is yet to complete its assignment and submit a report,” the statement reads.
He added that as a consequence, the governor has approved the immediate suspension of Ado, pending findings of a committee chaired by Bello Abdulkadir, attorney-general of the state and commissioner for justice.
Ibrahim added that the committee, which was given two weeks to submit its report, will investigate the source, actual content of the alleged statement and the motive behind it.
Ibrahim named Sagir Musa, commissioner for information, youth, sports and culture; Abdullahi Muhammmad, commissioner for health; and Muhammad Yahaya, permanent secretary of establishment and service matters, office of the SSG; as members of the committee.
On July 29, 2024, President Bola Tinubu signed the minimum wage bill into law.
The legislation increased the country’s minimum wage from N30,000 to N70,000.
In September 2024, the federal government approved the upward review of the consolidated public service salary structure (CONPSS).
