Zulum tasks Borno LG chairmen on 70,000 minimum wage implementation

…Over bloated staff roll stalling minimum wage implementation – official

…NLC commends full implementation of minimum wage in primary schools

By: Our Reporter

Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, has charged all the 27 Local Government Area (LGA) chairmen to ensure the swift and effective implementation of the new 70,000 Naira minimum wage.

During a high-level meeting held at the Government House, Saturday night, which was attended by the state leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Zulum directed the LGA chairpersons to come up with a workable solution for the minimum wage implementation.

“All local government chairpersons should go back to their localities, engage with relevant stakeholders and come up with a workable solution to the salary problem at the local government levels,” Zulum said.

He added, “I want to stress that the payment of 72,000 minimum wage has been fully implemented for state civil servants and all primary school teachers in Borno.”

Zulum also warned against retrenchment of staff at the local government level, stating that “We are not in support of staff retrenchment at the local government level as I direct you to institute a mechanism that will lead to the implementation of the minimum wage.”

He added, “I want to appeal to workers at the local government level to be patient. We are working closely with the 27 local governments to ensure the implementation of the minimum wage.”

…Over bloated staff roll stalling minimum wage payment – LG official

Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Local Government and Emirate Affairs, Modu Alhaji Mustapha stressed that implementing the 70,000 minimum wage for local government staff has been stalled due to the over bloated number of employees.

According to the Permanent Secretary, Borno’s local government councils are grappling with an unusually high number of staff which is complicating the payroll and minimum wage administration.

He revealed that the state’s 27 LGAs collectively employ approximately 90,000 staff, a figure that is strikingly high compared to larger states like Kano, whose population is three times more than Borno’s but maintains a comparatively leaner staff structure of about 30,000 employees across its 44 LGAs.

“While the intention behind the minimum wage increase is laudable, the reality on ground in Borno is far more complex,” the LG official explained. “Our local governments are already over stretched and the current staff level has become an obstacle towards implementing the 70,000 minimum wage.”

“To put this into perspective, let us take Maiduguri Metropolitan Council for example, it’s monthly allocation from the federal government sometimes stood below N700m.”

“While this may seem substantial at a glance, the local government needs N778m to pay minimum wage.

This constitutes the entire monthly income of the LGA. When you consider that the MMC also has to fund other critical services such as public health, water supply, security, and other sectors, the financial strain becomes glaringly apparent.

…NLC commends full implementation of the new wage in primary schools

The Nigeria Labour Congress has commended Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum, for his role in implementing the N72,000 minimum wage for primary school teachers in the state.

Chairman of the NLC, Borno State Chapter, Comrade Yusuf Inuwa, made the commendation during the high-level meeting held at the Government House on Saturday.

“Your Excellency, whenever we attend the national executive meetings, the national body is very much happy because primary school teachers are being paid 72,000 as minimum wage,” Comrade Inuwa said.

He also said, “Your Excellency, when I stood up during one of our meetings to announce that primary school teachers are being paid 72,000 in Borno State, I was applauded, and you were highly commended.”

Zulum tasks Borno LG chairmen on 70,000 minimum wage implementation

ECOWAS AND AFRICA CENTRE FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES DEEPEN STRATEGIC COOPERATION ON PEACE, SECURITY, AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

By: Michael Mike

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies (ACSS) have reaffirmed their commitment to deepening strategic collaboration in addressing emerging regional threats, particularly misinformation, disinformation, and growing insecurity across West Africa.

The ACSS delegation led by the Director, Ms. Amanda Dory met with the ECOWAS Vice President , H.E Madam Damtien TCHINTCHIBIDJA at the ECOWAS Commission headquarters, Abuja – Nigeria on Friday, 18th July, 2025.

The high-level discussions held were on strengthening bilateral cooperation in the areas of peace, security, and strategic leadership. The meeting focused on fostering resilient governance structures, enhancing human security, and improving early warning mechanisms to mitigate conflict in the region.

Both parties agreed to collaborate in the following key areas of capacity building for ECOWAS and Member States’ personnel, strategic leadership development for peace and security practitioners, Information sharing and exchange of best practices and Utilization of new technologies and models, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), for data collection, analysis, and scenario-based forecasting.
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COMBATING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GBV) AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT:
ECOWAS STRENGTHENS CAPACITIES OF IVORIAN ACTORS

By: Michael Mike

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Centre for Gender Development (CCDG), in partnership with the Ivorian Ministry of Women, Family and Children, has initiated a national training workshop on the prevention of and response to gender-based violence (GBV) and sexual
harassment.

The programme, which was initiated between Thursday 26 and Saturday 28 June 2025 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire is part of the implementation of the regional strategy adopted in 2021 to eradicate violence
against women and girls in the community.

The three-day meeting brought together judicial, health and social actors with the aim of strengthening their skills and coordinating a holistic approach to the care of victims of violence. The aim was to strengthen participants’ skills in the
prevention, detection and management of GBV and sexual harassment.

Speaking at the opening, Moussa Diarassouba, Chief of Staff representing the Minister for Women, stressed the urgency of taking action. “These overwhelming figures are voices crying out for justice, redress and protection. Inaction is no longer an option,” he warned.

He called on judicial actors to guarantee access to justice and fight against impunity, including health professionals to become more involved in the medical and psychological care of victims, and
social workers to support survivors in their social and economic reintegration.

The ECOWAS Resident Representative in Côte d’Ivoire, Ambassador Fanta Cissé, praised the efforts of the Ivorian government, which have enabled Côte d’Ivoire to take the lead in the fight
against GBV. She did not fail to call on everyone to mobilise more strongly against the multiple forms of violence, which have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. ‘The challenges are immense and require the combined efforts of all to achieve zero tolerance for gender-based
violence and sexual harassment,’ she said.

For her part, the Director of the CCDG, Ms Sandra Oulaté-Fattoh, said that professionals and other actors have a key role to play in the early recognition, appropriate treatment and support
of survivors of such violence. “To fulfil this role effectively, you need adequate training to enable you to recognise the signs and symptoms of gender-based violence and sexual harassment, even in cases where victims do not explicitly disclose their situation. This includes awareness of the
different forms of violence, including physical, sexual, psychological and economic, as well as the cultural and social contexts that influence these situations,” she emphasised.

As a reminder, in the ECOWAS region, more than 10% of women experience physical, sexual or emotional violence, often within the family. This situation has been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen cases of GBV skyrocket, with an increase of up to 50% in
some countries in the region. Côte d’Ivoire alone recorded 9,607 cases of gender-based violence in 2024, affecting 7,950 women and 3,290 children, according to official figures.

COMBATING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE (GBV) AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT:
ECOWAS STRENGTHENS CAPACITIES OF IVORIAN ACTORS