By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has announced a 75 per cent pay rise for workers in the state.
In an announcement on Monday, Mr Obaseki said the minimum wage for Edo workers is now N70,000 per month and not the previous N40,000 per month.
Recall that shortly after the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the Governor raised the minimum wage of civil servants in the state to N40,000 from the national N30,000 in 2021.
The latest pay rise by the Edo State government is coming at a time the federal government and the labour unions under the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) are discussing a new minimum wage amid significant increase in the prices of goods and services in the country.
Last week, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo, disclosed that workers in the state civil service were getting a N35,000 wage support from the federal government.
At the commissioning of a newly built ultra-modern Labour House (secretariat complex) for labour unions in the Edo State, in Benin City today, Mr Obaseki said the new minimum wage regime would come into effect from May 1, 2024, during this year’s Workers’ Day.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Adedapo Adesanya