Why I raised Edo minimum wage to N70,000 – Obaseki

[Esther ogunseemi]

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has explained the reasons behind the increase in the minimum wage for workers in the state from N40,000 to N70,000.

Obaseki said it was due to the recent exchange rate devaluation, economic realities, high food prices, inflation and willingness to get people to work better.

Speaking on Channels Television’s programme Politics Today on Monday, the governor said his administration felt the pain of the state’s workers and implemented the move to make life better for them.

He added that the current national economic realities were forces beyond his control, but he could not continue to let workers languish in pain and penury.

Justifying the increment, Obaseki said, “The government and governance are about our people. You cannot claim to be doing well as a government if your people are in penury and unhappy.

“In 2011, when minimum wage was 18,000, the exchange rate was N150/$. So, by calculations, workers in Edo State were taking home $120 home monthly. When we increased the minimum wage to N40,000 in 2022, the exchange rate at that time was N415. So, workers were getting about $96, which was a discount on what they were earning in 2011.

“Even as of today, with the N70,000 minimum wage, the current exchange rate with over N1,000 pegged their take home at $55 which is less than what they were earning two years ago.