Makinde makes pledge to pay N70,000 minimum wage

…Extends wage award to pensioners, workers by three months

Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has pledged the commitment of his administration to commence the payment of the N70,000 minimum wage.

The Governor noted that once the issue of consequential salary adjustment is addressed, the state will commence payment.

This was as the governor announced the extension of the N25,000 wage award to workers and N15,000 wage award to pensioners by another three months.

The extension, the governor noted, is to cover the period that the negotiation on the consequential adjustment will last, noting that the payment of the wage awad will stop upon the conclusion of negotiations to effectively implement the minimum wage.

Governor Makinde made this announcement on Saturday during the 2024 World Teachers’ Day Celebration with the theme: “Valuing Teachers’ Voices Towards a New Social Contract for Education,” held at the NUT (ENDWELL) Model College Sports Complex, Owode Housing Estate, Apata, Ibadan.

He said, “On the minimum wage, negotiation will start next week and we will pay the N70,000 minimum wage. But the consequential adjustment is about to be negotiated. The NLC and our team will sit down to discuss it.”

Governor Makinde, who lauded teachers in the state for their massive support to him during the last election and their immeasurable contributions to building the state, said his government will continue to prioritise the welfare of teachers and all civil servants in the state so that they would continue to be productive.

Noting that education remains one of the major pillars of his government, the governor promised to fix more education infrastructure so that teachers can continue to impart knowledge in a conducive environment in order to guarantee a better future for the state.

“I want to say kudos to the teachers. Everywhere I went during the campaign, you mobilised yourselves and supported us wholeheartedly. So, I appreciate you and I say thank you.

“We are going through challenges as a country. We have issues of minimum wage and fuel price but I want to appeal to you to say that tough times don’t last but tough people do. We will outlast these challenges we are faced with.”

The governor added, “Any country that wants to develop must educate her people.”

“So, for us in Oyo State, we will continue to specially look after our teachers, because they are dealing with our future.

“You teachers, you have to be put where you belong. So, I thank you for your support and dedication to duty. We still have a long way to go.

“When we came in, with the UBEC grant and matching fund we used to give them, we were spending about N3 billion every year on infrastructure. So, for the past five years, we have done about N15 billion but it is not enough – just like a drop in the ocean.

“The gap we have to fill, when we did the analysis a few years ago, it was around N40 billion but I can tell you now that it will be close to N70 billion.

“If we continue to spend N3 billion yearly for the next 15 years, we still won’t cover the gap on ground. So apart from SUBEB,  we will have education intervention funds of a minimum of N10 billion every year towards bridging  the infrastructural gap in education.

“And of course we will employ more teachers and we will put them in a conducive learning environment that would guarantee better outcomes for our students.”

The governor, while commissioning a block of 10 classrooms built by the NUT at the NUT Model School, maintained that his administration’s commitment to fixing inner roads remained on course and that it will work on inner roads within the Owode Housing Estate.

Earlier in his welcome address, the NUT State Chairman, Comrade Raji Ismail, thanked the governor for his “unprecedented achievements in the education sector and for being mindful of teachers’ welfare through his encouragement of career progression for primary school teachers, regular payment of salaries, promotions, payment of leave bonuses and healthcare insurance, among others.”

Also in his goodwill message, the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state, Comrade Kayode Martins, assured that the governor will do everything necessary to implement the minimum wage as expected.