May 5, (THEWILL)- Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State on Workers’ Day announced a minimum wage of N70,000 for workers in the state. In fact, he made the disclosure on Monday, April 29, two days earlier during the commissioning of the newly built ultra-modern Labour House for labour unions in the state, named after his predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole currently representing Edo North as Senator at the National Assembly.
For a state that is under electioneering, which will end with an governorship election in September 21, 2024 and a governor who is aiming to secure victory for his favoured aspirant and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the forthcoming election, Asue Ighodalo, the increase seemed designed to score political leverage in the race to Dennis Osadebey House among the frontline political parties, namely the governing PDP, the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Labour Party, LP.
Expectedly, the governorship candidate of the APC, Senator Monday Okpebholo, criticised the increase, describing it as political blackmail.
“Civil servants deserve a better deal from the state government and not a Greek gift to blackmail them to vote for a party that has failed the people of Edo State. There are no good schools, hospitals, roads, or housing for civil servants. These are the real issues. Obaseki has failed by every standard and I am sure Edo people, especially the civil servants, know this,” he said.
Analysts support this view. They say that the increase would apply only to workers at the lower rung of the, leaving out senior staff. According to this view, a N70,000 wage increase from the previous N40, 000 would mean a 75 per cent increase. Taking for example the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure, CONPSS, for a grade level 8 worker, step 2 at N74,664, this increase would mean N74,644 plus the 75 per cent increase of N55,995 equals N130,000.
“Ironically, workers with a school leaving certificate are paid a salary of N24,000, Ordinary National Diploma holders receive N56,000. This situation highlights the inconsistencies and challenges in the state’s employment and compensation policies,” said an analyst who spoke under anonymity.
Efforts to get a response from the Special Media Adviser to the governor, Crusoe Osagie failed as he would neither answer calls to his phone nor respond to messages.
Investigation, however, shows that Edo State has been paying N40,000 as minimum wage, N10,000 more than the National Minimum Wage of N30,000 since 2021. In fact, Edo is the only state in the country that pays its workers more than the minimum wage, which it has sustained by this new increase. So, this is the second time that Governor Obaseki has increased the minimum wage in the state.
Indeed, Economic Confidential, a susidiary of PR Nigeria in January 2024 declared Edo as one of the seven economically viable states in Nigeria, alongside Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Kaduna, Kwara and Oyo.
Assistant Editor of EC, said the report was compiled from figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee, FAAC.
He said the figures for 2022 showed that “a total Internally Generated Revenue of N1.5trn from the seven most viable states was almost twice the total IGR of 29 states together that merely generated about N650bn. A breakdown showed that while Lagos received N370bn from FACC, the state generated N651bn; Ogun received N113bn and generated 120.5bn; Rivers received 363.4bn and generated N172bn; Kaduna received N155bn in federal allocation and generated N58bn; Oyo received N181bn and generated N62bn; Edo received N147bn and generated N47.4BN and Kwara received N99bn and generated N35.7bn.”
Confirming this revenue profile for Edo State, Chairman of Edo State Task Force on Internally Generated Revenue, Osagie Igbinedio, said recently that state’s IGR for 2024 grew from N45 billion in 2023 to N67 billion in 2024, sourced only from the formal sector through withholding tax collection, revenues generation by MDAs and Pay-As-You-Earn tax contributions.
He said, “In 2022, 12 states did N17b total IGR collection. Thus, Governor Obaseki’s economic reforms and investment drive has propelled Edo economy to grow by the value of what 12 states struggled to collect.”
Explaining further that reduced cost of governance and tax collection through digital platforms has enabled the state to sustain and increase its revenue base, he dispelled any fears of insolvency and incapacity to meet financial obligations. Whatever is the case, Governor Obaseki declared May 1, 2024 as the cut-off date for the payment of the new minimum wage, which is five months’ payment or default period before the polls.
Besides, he was not the only governor that announced a wage increase on Workers’ Day. His counterparts in Ebonyi and Cross River States, Governor Francis Nwifuru and Governor Bassey Otu, respectively, also announced a wage increase for workers on Workers’ Day, though with N10,000 increment, making it N40,000.
About the Author
Amos Esele is the Deputy Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
