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.
