The Oyo State Government has approved a new minimum wage of ₦80,000 for its workforce.
Announcing this on Wednesday, Dotun Oyelade, the State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, stated that a Technical Committee formed by the government recommended the wage increase, which received approval from Governor Seyi Makinde for implementation.
Oyelade explained that the new wage scale will be rolled out once the committee, composed of senior government and labor representatives, completes the necessary consequential adjustments.
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He also noted that just last month, the National Bureau of Statistics rated Oyo as the most worker-friendly state in Southern Nigeria, reflecting a marked reduction in unemployment due to significant hiring across various sectors.
“The Oyo State Government has been paying workers’ salaries on the 25th of every month since Governor Makinde took office in 2019.
“The governor began paying the previous ₦30,000 minimum wage from the start of his tenure over four years ago, including consistent payments of pensions, gratuities, and a 13th-month salary for both workers and pensioners alike.
“Since November 2023, Governor Makinde has been paying ₦25,000 to workers and ₦15,000 to pensioners as a welfare wage award. The Makinde administration introduced the wage award to cushion the effects of the Federal Government’s fuel subsidy removal and has remained consistent with these payments for over a year, even to this day,” Oyelade said.
The commissioner stated that Governor Makinde has cleared the backlog of gratuity payments for pensioners from 2008 to 2015, increasing gratuity payments for beneficiaries under both the Local Government Staff Pensions Board and those managed by the Ministry of Establishment and Training.
He further noted that the governor has reinstated pensioners whose names were removed by the previous administration and continues to provide an annual Christmas/New Year bonus in the form of a chicken for all pensioners.
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The efforts of the governor is highly commendable.
He is a workers friendly governor.