UPDATED: Abia State to pay new minimum wage this month

Workers of the state civil service in Abia State will earn the new minimum wage this month.

This was made public by Abia State Governor Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu in his New Year address to people of the state, today, January 1st, 2020.

“I have also received the report of the committee which I set-up to advise me on modalities for implementing the new minimum wage in Abia State and I wish to announce to you that Abia State will, effective January 2020, pay its workers the new Minimum Wage," he said.

He promised the people that pensions and gratuity would be paid, saying, “We will sustain this going forward and ensure that pensioners get paid every month while working out modalities to clear arrears that predate our administration.”

He also said that the school lunch programme in the state will be sustained to further improve the outcomes in 2020, while pointing out that following the successful re-launch of the Golden Guinea Breweries, his administration “is working towards ensuring that by the end of the year 2020, we will announce that one or more of these industries have come back to production”, adding “efforts are ongoing in earnest to restore other moribund industries in Abia State”.

Speaking on made-in-Abia products, Ikpeazu said. “We shall engage every legitimate instrument to ensure our capacity to advance Abia products in the global market place and integrate technology into the productive activities of our people.”