The recent minimum wage of N70,000 announced by Edo State government has been described as a Greek gift hurriedly put together because of the governorship election coming up on September 21, 2024, in the state.
A Benin based organisation, the Edo N’Okpa Movement in a statement noted that the N70,000 minimum wage announced by the Edo state government was vote buying, ahead of September 21, 2024, governorship election.
The group accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of always similarly bringing out caterpillars and bulldozers to road projects on the eve of election only to remove them after elections, adding that the new minimum wage was one of such ‘caterpillars and bulldozers’ which should not be celebrated by workers.
“In this case, the governor hurriedly rushed to press to announce the minimum wage of N70,000 because he got wind of the review of civil servants’ salaries by 25 percent and 35 percent by the federal government.”
The statement by Emovon Osaretin, the group’s national convener, questioned the N70,000 minimum wage “when the Governor Obaseki’s administration has not been able to pay the N40,000 minimum wage effectively with many workers being owed up to six months in arears.
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“Maybe he is setting booby traps for the next governor since he knows very well that his anointed governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Asue Ighodalo, cannot win the election in Edo state.”
The group also drew the attention of Governor Obaseki to the Benin-Ugo-Abraka road, leading from Sakponba road to Abraka, which has been ongoing since 2016.
“It is public knowledge that the governor usually deploys caterpillars and bulldozers to this Benin-Ugo-Abraka road and many more across the state every time there is election, yet not up to 10 percent of the work has been completed since 2016.
“The governor has again brought another set of equipment to the same road, and they will be retrieved after the election, the group lamented.”
While advising Edo workers not to sell their votes ahead of the September governorship election, the Edo N’Okpa Movement called on the youths to be circumspect as politicians are likely going to rely on them to perpetuate acts of violence during the September election.
