Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo
state insisted that the N18,000
minimum wage must be paid against
all the odds, thereby disagreeing
with other governors, who were
skeptical about it taking to
consideration the present economic
situation in Nigeria.
The governor made these remarks at
Labour House, Abuja, on Friday,
November 20.
He reminded that the minumum wage
was in force since the times of the
previous administration. Oshiomhole
also noted that the N18,000 rate was a
product of agreement between the
federal government and the organised
labour.
“I said workers have a stake in this
democracy. They are the ones who
could afford to march the streets and
they march the streets for democracy.
Democracy doesn’t have to run at the
comfort or convenience of governors,
ministers, and presidents.
“I believe that the issue in the economy
hasn’t got to do with minimum wage. I
have always also reminded my
colleagues that the minimum wage was
not imposed, it was negotiated and
state governments agreed to it, the
president signed it not under duress,
there was no strike to compel the then
president to sign it, he signed it
voluntarily.
“I believe when you look at the
minimum wage, as it is today at
N18,000, it is less than 100 dollars. I
think it is now about eighty dollars.
Now, divide eighty dollars by 31 days,
you will be getting about two point
something dollars.
“Now we cannot argue that workers in
Nigeria formal sector should not earn
more than two dollars a day, I cannot
subscribe to that because the heart of
governance is the welfare of the
people,” the governor was quoted by
Vanguard.
The participants of the Friday’s meeting
also asked the 36 governors to cut their
salaries by half so as to leave more
funds available for the workers in their
states. The leader of the Northern
Elders’ Forum Professor Ango Abdullahi,
who introduced this idea, also asked any
of the governors who would be unable
to pay the minimum wage to resign. In
his opinion, this move would pave the
way for those who perform duties in the
interest of the Nigerian workers.
It would be noted that Governor
Oshiomhole has recently celebrated his
seventh anniversary in the office. His
young wife, Lara Oshiomhole, organised
a special event for the internally
displaced persons to mark this milestone
in her husband’s career.
