Makinde Endorses N25,000 Salary Increase for Workers and N15,000 for Pensioners
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has given his approval for a wage award of N25,000 for workers and N15,000 for pensioners in the state for the upcoming six months. HeraldReporters confirms that in October, workers had threatened to initiate an indefinite strike if the government did not meet their demands for a wage increase, following the Federal Government’s announcement of a N35,000 wage award.
Addressing a gathering of workers at the Agodi Governor’s Office in Ibadan, Oyo State’s capital, Makinde made this announcement and assured the employees that they would receive payment alerts from their respective banks by the end of the week.
The wage award for both workers and pensioners will result in an additional N2.2 billion to the state government’s monthly wage bill. Despite the impact on the state’s finances, Makinde emphasized his commitment to fulfilling his promise to the workers.
He explained, “We all understand that it is a challenging period for us as a nation and as a state, you have to look at your pocket to see what we can do. So, for every pensioner in the state, we will give them N15,000 monthly for the next six months, and I guarantee it starts in October. And for workers, we are doing N25,000 to cushion the effects of this economic challenge that we are all going through.”
The governor called for increased understanding among the workers, acknowledging that the current economic situation has put pressure on household finances due to the removal of fuel subsidies and the fluctuating naira-dollar exchange rate.
Makinde expressed, “The current economic situation calls for deeper partnership and cooperation between government and workers rather than having the ‘we against them’ disposition. The present economic situation would pass with collective efforts.“
The State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Kayode Martins, welcomed the governor’s gesture and expressed the hope that it would put an end to all wage award agitations.
