Godwin Obaseki, Edo governor, has approved N40,000 as the new minimum wage for workers in the state.

Obaseki made the announcement on Sunday while delivering his 2022 Workers’ Day speech. 

He said his government will continue to prioritise the welfare of Edo workers and equip them with the capacity to deliver quality service.

“As we all know, the minimum of N30,000 can barely sustain a family. It will be immoral and mindless of us to continue to pretend that we do not know that our workers are suffering,” he said.

“The government of Edo has now decided to review the minimum for Edo workers from N30,000 to N40,000 a month. Undoubtedly, Edo is the first state since the current outbreak of coronavirus to take this initiative.”

The governor said his administration is sensitive to the impact of inflation in the country.

“Even though we would have loved to pay more, we hope that this little adjustment would enable us to cushion the impact of the inflation that we are faced with. There is no doubt that the financial implications will be heavy and put another burden on the government,” he said.

“But as a government, we are prepared to make the sacrifices so that the workers can live a better life. Your welfare is our number one priority.”

Obaseki also approved payment of harmonised pension from May 2022 in tandem with an agreement reached with pensioners. 

“I am particularly interested in our senior citizens because they are one of the most vulnerable in our society. We took interest in payments of outstanding pensions to our pensioners in spite of the fact that these pensions were held by the previous administration,” he said. 

“In view of the prevailing economic circumstances, I have now approved, effective this May, the agreement we reached with the Union of Pensioners that the harmonized amount would be paid from May 2022.

“Government is aware of the difficulties faced by the pensioners due to the non-payment of pension and gratuities to pensioners by previous governments. This responsibility is huge and it will require a substantial part of our resources to settle them.”

The Cable