News
Uzodimma Approves ₦104,000 Minimum Wage for Imo Civil Servants
Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma has announced a new minimum wage of ₦104,000 for civil service employees in the state.
This decision positions Imo among a select few states that have enacted such an increase in response to national economic conditions and the rising cost of living.
In his announcement, the Governor also introduced a comprehensive set of incentives and reforms aimed at enhancing the welfare of the state’s workforce and pensioners.
READ ALSO: Uzodimma denies plans to handpick 2027 successor
Uzodimma confirmed that the ₦104,000 wage structure will be implemented immediately.
For civil servants already earning consolidated salaries of ₦104,000 or more, the government has approved an additional 10 percent salary increase to ensure fairness and a broad impact from the wage review.
This initiative also includes significant salary increases for other essential sectors, such as healthcare and education.
In the healthcare sector, the new salary structure raises entry-level salaries for doctors to ₦582,000.
The Governor stated that this adjustment not only recognizes the vital role of healthcare professionals but also serves as an incentive to attract and retain qualified personnel in the state.
He also mentioned that the new salary structure addresses the educational sector, with entry-level salaries for lecturers set at ₦222,000.
In addition to the salary increase, the Governor assured Imo workers of the continued implementation of the 13th-month salary and promised that all promotions granted in recent years would now be financially honored.
“This is more than just a wage increase,” Uzodimma remarked. “It is a commitment to restoring dignity to labor and ensuring that our public servants can lead decent, productive lives.”
In an unprecedented move, the Governor also announced ₦16 billion in gratuities for pensioners, which includes free healthcare insurance coverage aimed at alleviating the financial burdens faced by elderly retirees.
Furthermore, the state has commenced the long-overdue payment of gratuities dating back to 2006. According to the administration, over 5,700 retirees—including 2,962 from the local government sector and 2,742 from the state level—will receive their entitlements in phased batches.
The Governor indicated that many have already received payments, with the remaining set to be paid in one or two more installments.
The government’s salary reforms also extend to employees of the Imo State Transport Company (ITC).
In June 2025, ITC staff salaries were increased, with monthly pay rising from a modest ₦9,000–₦41,000 to ₦51,000–₦60,000, depending on grade level and responsibilities. This is viewed as a significant turnaround for a previously neglected sector.
This latest development builds on earlier actions taken by the Uzodimma-led administration. In July 2023, following the removal of fuel subsidies and the resulting economic hardship, the Governor approved a temporary increase in the state’s minimum wage to ₦40,000. This package included free transportation, medical care, and additional social interventions.
Speaking to the Nation, Uchenna Ibe Great, the Imo Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), described the wage review as “commendable” and a “welcome development.”
“It is quite commendable. We applaud the governor for this review. Since nobody told him to do it, he took it upon himself to do it, despite all the problems confronting Imo State. He has taken the time to think about the workforce; it is a good development,” Great stated.
The TUC chairman also expressed gratitude to the Governor for considering the welfare of retirees, particularly the ₦16 billion in gratuities for pensioners.
“The Governor has given pensioners the opportunity to change their next of kin. This development will save people from the numerous court cases experienced in the past,” he added.
Great emphasized that the Governor’s decision was not a result of pressure from the labor force but rather a gesture of goodwill.
He characterized the wage increase as a victory for the entire workforce in the state, asserting that “no worker in Imo will say you (Uzodimma) have not been fair, at least for this.”
At the state Secretariat along Owerri-Port Harcourt Road, jubilant celebrations erupted as workers rejoiced over the governor’s approval of the new minimum wage.
While some workers expressed cautious optimism, indicating they would wait to see the implementation of the new minimum wage, others described the governor’s gesture as unexpected and sudden, welcoming the move as a positive development.
Joyce Abdulmalik, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, heard on Wednesday, how Zenith Bank raised alarm over the huge transaction in one of its branches by Abubakar Malami, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF-MoJ).
The bank said it immediately filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) in respect to the transactions, during its appearance in the ongoing trial of Malami, his wife, and son over allegation of massive looting of funds belonging to the Federal Government during his tenure.
Mashelia Bata, a compliance officer with the bank, who appeared as witness in the case, where Malami, et al, are facing a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N8.7 billion, to which they pleaded not guilty, gave the testimony while being questioned on the bank’s roles in the matter.
Details of the testimony conveyed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated how the compliance officer who was cross-examined by Adebayo Adedeji, lawyer to the defendants admitted that the deposits in the account statements complied with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Arguments had stretched when Adedeji, opposed Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), lawyer to the EFCC, who had asked the witness to explain the meaning of a suspicious transaction report, stressing that there was no ambiguity in the term.
However, Okutepa, in response, maintained that section 215(3) of the Evidence Act did not preclude him from re-examining the witness while urging the court to allow the question for proper explanation.
After Abdulmalik, agreed and overruled Adedeji, the witness told the court that banks were required to alert the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) about fund deposits coming in a repetitive pattern, adding: “Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must escalate it to the NFIU.”
Remember election decision is a one-day event that could lead to four years of pains, were the words with which Seyi Makinde, Governor of Oyo State, employed to rouse Nigerian voters to action against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.
Makinde, said to be eyeing the Presidency in the next election circle, warned that Nigerians must not slack, but do everything in their powers to show the party the exit door for the suffering it had brought to them.
Declaring that the federal might those in power might be relying on would not work, the governor told his audience at the Oyo state Tourism Summit held at the University of Ibadan International Conference Centre (ICC), on Wednesday, that Nigerians would vote for leaders of their choice regardless of political influence.
Hear him: “I believe that this election cycle, federal might will not work. It has worked in Ekiti state in both instances but this time around, Nigerians will show politicians pepper. They will show us that they don’t want to be bystanders anymore; they will participate, and I’m sure of what I’m saying.”
Stressing how he had created structures to strengthen good governance in the state, Makinde, said while he would always root for continuity by which he would recommend a successor, the ultimate choice would be left for the people on who would lead them in the same manner they chose him.
His words: “I tell people that I will recommend for Oyo state people, but the decision will rest with the people of Oyo state. But if you make a mistake and bring someone who will not do good work, it is a one-day event, but the impact will last four years. So, we must get it right. Leadership changes but systems, they endure. So, our focus has been deliberate.
“People say, ‘oh, so Seyi, you did not mentor anyone these seven years you have been in government that can take over from you without the taint of APC’? And I ask them that Morohunkola Thomas or Bimbo Adekanbi, are they not from Oyo state? For us, if you’re from Oyo state, loyal to Oyo state, and have capacity, we will support you. We are blind to part colouration but open to capacity that can move Oyo state forward.”
Maintaining that his idea of continuity was aimed at building enduring systems that future administration could strengthen rather than replace, he added that the goal was to lay a solid foundation that would allow subsequent governments to build on existing structures instead of starting afresh.
There have been speculations that Makinde may back Bimbo Adekanbi, a former commissioner for finance in the state, as his preferred governorship candidate.
Adekanbi served in the administration of the late Abiola Ajimobi under the APC.
On Wednesday, Adebo Ogundoyin, speaker of the Oyo house of assembly, said he led lawmakers in the state “to a strategic breakfast meeting” with Adekanmbi, “the consensus gubernatorial candidate of our new party in the State Allied Peoples Movement.”
Oyo is the only state currently governed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria. The party has been embroiled in an internal leadership crisis, resulting in factions aligned with Makinde and Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Buildings seized for being used as havens for criminal activities are now to be converting to police bases or residences, instead of demolishing them, if the new proposal by the Anambra State Police Command, sails through.
Ikioye Orutugu, Commissioner of Police, who canvassed for the new arrangement on Wednesday, told reporters that it made more sense putting such buildings to good use than pulling them down or setting them ablaze.
The police boss spoke against the backdrop of the burning down of big edifice in Nkpo, a community in Idemili North Local Government to the state, said to have provided a base for criminals and hideout for kidnappers, as part of the major breakthroughs by the command in recent times.
Three kidnap people including a medical doctor, were said to have been smoked out from the building, which was instantly torched in line with the Anambra State 2025 Homeland Security Laws, which empowers the state government to demolish any property used for or suspected to be proceeds of crime.
Against the backdrop of the number of buildings that had previously been pulled down, and the empty land taken over as government properties, the police boss, said it was not the best thing to do, insisting that the government should rather acquire such buildings and designate them as police posts or residences of police personnel.
Reeling out the streak of successes recorded in recent times in the state, the police boss, said they included the arrest of kidnappers, cultists, armed robbers, child traffickers, sexual predators, separatist agitators and other criminal elements.
Citing one of them as “the strategic clearance operation on 7th May 2026 in Owerre-Ezukala, Orumba South Local Government Area, he said: “Recall that the camp was earlier destroyed by a Joint Security Team. Before the confession, one Nnamdi Nkemdilim Ogbonna, male, aged 37 years, allegedly one of the top commanders of the proscribed secessionists group, is in custody as well as intelligence received overtime points on how some escaped gang members were attempting to regroup.
“The offensive operation led to the recovery of one General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) with about 2,000 rounds of live chain ammunition, two fabricated rocket launchers with 25 propellers, 10 locally made Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), one locally made Beretta pistol, two pump-action guns, three hand grenades, 10 rounds of K2 live ammunition, one gas cylinder and one black Ecolac box.
“The operatives also dislodged the armed criminals and sustained operational dominance in the area to prevent any regrouping. We remain committed to sustaining ongoing operations against all forms of criminality and ensuring the safety and security of Anambra people.”
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