Ekiti State Governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji has assured workers in the State that his Government would not dash their hope on the impending new minimum wage, saying that he would act appropriately when the ongoing discussion is finalized at the Federal level.
Oyebanji gave the assurance on Wednesday while addressing workers at a rally marking the 2024 edition of the May Day celebration held at the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, Ado- Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.
Dousing workers’ skepticism over government’s sincerity, Oyebanji said his government would not stop the N15,000 Wage Award being paid to workers to cushion the effect of the inflation, pending the time the new minimum wage would become effective.
Energizing the workers’ hope despite the astronomic increase in prices of commodities, Governor Oyebanji said his government had implemented wage increase and consequential adjustment for workers on grade 13 and above, while also paying deductions to cooperatives in order to alleviate their sufferings.
The Governor who was accompanied by his wife, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji; and Deputy Governor, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye; at the event said about 20,000 job seekers have been employed into formal and informal sectors of the economy, with succour being provided in form of conditional cash grants and other palliatives to mitigate the effects of the ongoing economic crises on workers and other citizens.
Speaking about the spiraling fuel scarcity, the Governor sympathised with the workers, assuring that the government would work relentlessly to attract more supplies of Premium Motor Spirit to the State in order to cushion the current harrowing experience being felt by citizens.
He appealed to petrol marketers to act as humanists at this trying time and stop hoarding the product as well as indiscriminate hike in prices in the interest of the general populace.
In their submissions, the State Chairmen of the Trade Union Congress(TUC), Comrd. Sola Adigun and his colleague in the Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC), Comrd Kolapo Olatunde who spoke along the same line, were full of praises for the governor for exhibiting enormous respect for workers and providing propitious grounds for them to operate.
In the same fashion, the labour chiefs saluted the Governor for magnanimously extending palliatives to workers to buffer the effect of the ongoing economic crisis on members, saying this has helped in making lives more comfortable and rewarding for members.
However, to cushion the spiraling inflation in the system, the Union leaders demanded speedy replication of the new minimum wage in Ekiti as soon as the legislative procedure was completed and secure presidential assent at the Federal level.
Many of the workers had defied the early morning downpour in the State Capital to make it to the Ekiti Parapo Pavilion, venue of the rally.
