Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has approved the payment of a new national minimum wage for workers in the state’s Civil Service. The new wage is from N18, 000 to of N25, 000.
The Governor who noted that the increment takes immediate effect, however, brushed aside, calls by organised labour regarding “the depletion of public servants population in the state”, raised by the state chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Emmanuel Ademokun and his Trade Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Comrade Marshall Ohue.
Governor, gave the indication, while delivering his address to mark the 2016 May Day Celebrations on Sunday at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, in Benin City, the Edo state capital.
He said even Directors in the state workforce would benefit from the exercise, despite the dwindling oil revenues.
The governor’s declaration jolted the aggrieved workers who had expressed disappointment with his government over a plethora of issues bothering on their welfare and unpaid salary arrears of Local Government Councils’ workers in the state, spanning four and14 months’ salary arrears.
This year’s anniversary which theme was; “the working class and quest for social economic revival, was the last debuts of the state Governor to mark the annual ritual with workers.
According to him, “so, Comrades, as a mark of my own commitment and to reflect that I’m a worker and you produced me. This is your government. I need to show that as they say, when the going gets tough, that is when the tough gets going.
“My movement has toughened me to stand when others are leaping and consistent with my commitment of no lamentation, here this afternoon beginning from today, the least worker in Edo state, we will increase the salary from N18, 000 to N25, 000.
He said the state government will be aggressive with tax defaulters and the collection of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in the state, adding that there would be no different approach in funding the wage bills.
He also disclosed that there will no going back in the implementation of property taxes, Land use charge and work out modalities that would compel the rich to pay more taxes to meet the basic needs of the poor.
“We will fund it the usual way we have been funding. But, I will be very aggressive with the issues of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). We will sustain that aggression. We will be more hard on tax defaulters
“We will be more hard on big people who do not pay taxes…The responsibility of the government like ours with so much inequalities, the state must squeeze the rich and give to those who are starving. That will would intensify.
“We will aggressively pursue property tax, we will pursue the implementation of the Land use charge, consumption tax and all the other taxes we have been pursuing.
“I want to be able to use my very privileged position to show that even with the financial crises in the Country, If we eliminate abuses in our salary administration, remove all the wastages in the system, we punish those who are involved in salary diversion, remove all ghost workers, would heave a sigh of relief to Nigerian workers”, he said.
Edo state chairman of the NLC, Comrade, Emmanuel Ademokun, earlier in a remark, appealed to the state government to commence employment into the public sector, arising from the dearth of workers across the Ministries and Parastatals in the state public sector.
