“Minimum wage to N85,000 is commendable, but it falls significantly short of addressing the unique cost-of-living challenges faced by Lagos workers.”
Labour Party’s recent gubernatorial candidate in Lagos, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, criticized the state’s new N85,000 minimum wage increase as inadequate to meet Lagos’s rising cost of living. While acknowledging the move as a positive step, he pointed out that Lagos workers face the highest transportation, food, and housing costs in Nigeria. Rhodes-Vivour called for greater investment in essential public services like education, transportation, and housing, arguing that despite the significant tax revenue generated by citizens, the quality of life remains low. He concluded by urging the government to build a city that serves its residents and criticized comparisons with less-developed states like Bauchi and Ekiti as shortsighted.
