The Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalists (NGIJ) says fresh revelations have cast serious doubt on claims by the Kaduna State government on the implementation of the ₦72,000 minimum wage.

Contrary to the official narrative, teachers across the state insist they were still being paid under the old wage structure.

Pay slips and bank alerts obtained by NGIJ showed salaries far below the promised figure.

In the Lere Local Government, a level-7 teacher under Kaduna SUBEB presented proof of his August 2025 salary, showing a credit alert of N37,436 received on September 3.

Similarly, in Zaria, another teacher confirmed his August salary stood at N42,000, with several documented reports from across the 23 local government areas, all pointing to a persistent N30,000 minimum wage regime.

These firsthand accounts contradict assurances given by Kaduna NLC chairman Ayuba Suleiman, who stated that Governor Uba Sani had already approved and commenced the implementation of the ₦72,000 minimum wage for workers on levels 1–7.

The state’s commissioner for information, Ahmed Maiyaki, had also echoed this position when NGIJ visited his office.

Findings also by NGIJ showed that the contradictions extended beyond basic education teachers, as lecturers at Nuhu Bamili Polytechnic, Zaria, stated that their salaries also fall short of the government’s declared minimum wage benchmark.

A lecturer who did not want his name mentioned disclosed that he received N64,800 as his salary for August 2025.

He lamented the non-reflection of the ₦72,000 minimum wage.

‘’There is no reflection of the ₦72,000 minimum wage in our pay. What the government is saying is different from what we are seeing in our bank accounts,” he said.

The findings raise critical questions about transparency, communication, and accountability within the state’s wage administration.

While officials claim implementation, evidence gathered during NGIJ’s governance assessment paints a troublingly different reality.

In a preliminary remark, NGIJ president Abdulrahman Aliagan said the guild was still collating facts and engaging critical stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive and fair assessment.

He stressed that NGIJ’s final governance report on the state, scheduled for release in November at a press conference in Abuja, would present a clearer picture of the situation.

(NAN)