LAGOS State government said, on Wednesday,  its resolve to pay the N18, 000 minimum wage recently prescribed by the Federal Government for Nigerian workers, is based on its belief that governance would be better enhanced with a well-motivated workforce.

The government statement, which was signed by Hakeem Bello, the Senior Special Assistant on  media to the state governor,   came on the heels of an advertorial by Oyo State government purporting that the Lagos State government has commenced payment of the new minimum wage because it “generates N20 billion internally every month. Therefore, its new wage bill of N5.5 billion is only 25 per cent of its monthly IGR”.

In a statement signed by chairman of Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr Tunde Fowler, the government declared, “Our resolve to pay the minimum wage with obvious limitations given the infrastructure and social needs of a state with huge population like Lagos, hinges on our believe that our ability to govern and serve our people can only be enhanced by a well-motivated workforce”.

Describing the advertorial’s reference to Lagos State IGR as “inaccurate”, the state government further stated, “For the records, the internally generated Revenue (IGR) of Lagos State is yet to reach N20 billion per month. It is, therefore, inaccurate to report that Lagos State IGR is N20 billion”.

According to the government, “The 36 states of the federation have different comparative advantages, hence the need to leverage on the unique opportunities that each state is blessed with; Lagos State is determined to empower its workforce. Hence, the payment of  the minimum wage of N18,000”.

“This response is to clarify factual inaccuracies above Lagos State government’s internally generated revenue”, the statement said.

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