Kunle Aderinokun
Oyo State Governor, Engr Seyi Makinde, said saturday that his government was in agreement with civil servants on the new N30,000 minimum wage.
Makinde, who noted that his administration had only on Friday set up a committee to oversee the negotiation and implementation of the new minimum wage, stated that civil servants and the government were going to be reasonable on the all-important matter.
According to a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, Governor Makinde made the disclosure during the quarterly live interview programme, Meet the Governor, on the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (BCOS).
The statement added that the governor alerted the people to a number of noticeable achievements and deliverables recorded by his administration within the last 200 days, just as he informed that his administration was able to deliver so far due to prudent management of resources.
Besides, he also said that he and members of his administration had been making sacrifices, as according to him, service to the people had been of uppermost concern.
Makinde stated that his government had never kept the organised Labour in the state and all stakeholders in dark over the resources accruing to the treasury.
He added that though the state was already aware of the cost implication of the new minimum wage, the government and the civil servants would be reasonable because they were heading in the same direction of delivering good governance and development to Oyo State.
The governor, who addressed a wide range of issues raised by the three-man panel of interviewers and residents of the states who made phone calls into the programme, said that though the government had been getting a good report about security in the state following the immense efforts of the administration in redesigning the security architecture; distribution of security vehicles and procurement of communication equipment, among other steps, it was not going to rest on its oars.
He commended the security agents saddled with the responsibility of policing the state and the people for their cooperation, noting that statistics have shown that the state has recorded the lowest crime rates in this Yuletide period.
He stated that the development was a confirmation of the fact that his administration had taken security a notch higher in the state.
Makinde said: “On the minimum wage issue, yesterday [Friday], we set up the committee that will engage with the Nigeria Labour Congress. The truth is, if we don’t deceive ourselves, everyone will be reasonable. NLC too knows that we are open with the amount of money we are getting as federal allocation. That is why we are in harmony.
“I have told them that we are going to get the matter resolved and they keyed into that because of the sincerity of purpose and transparency, they have found in this government. In fact, we know the cost-implication of the new minimum wage and the formula the federal government brought out on it.
“If we adopt it without negotiating, we know the amount that will still be needed to meet up. And we also put it on the table to them to analyse if Oyo State really can meet up with the amount that will be needed aside undertaking some other development projects in the state.
“One thing I can promise the people is, this is a new government, a new dawn and there is a new thinking between government and all other stakeholders, because we are all pulling in one single direction, which is delivering good governance and development agenda.”
Makinde stated that the reason his administration had been able to pay workers’ salaries, pensions and gratuities as and when due as well as record some other key deliverables across the four key pillars of his administration was due to the prudent management of resources and the personal sacrifices of all political office holders in the state.
He explained that among the various measures employed by the administration to effectively manage resources in other to have funds for developmental projects, he and other functionaries in the government had been using their private vehicles in the last six months, noting that this step had saved the state up to N3 billion to N4 billion, which could have been expended on vehicles.
He explained further that his administration has put an end to the era of frivolous approvals, while also giving clear-cut priorities to projects and programmes that can be embarked upon in the interest of Oyo State people.
Makinde maintained that the new thinking and approach, apart from freeing up funds for the development had also contributed to raising the interest of the private sector in partnering with the government to develop the state.
He said that one of the benefits the state had derived from his style of administration was the fact that the beautification efforts on major roundabouts in Ibadan with Christmas Lighting Systems around Ibadan, the state capital was done by the private sector at no cost to the state.
