From Tony Osauzo, Benin
EDO State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday described as Greek gift and politics taken too far, Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s May Day minimum wage increase from N18,000 to N25,000 for civil servants.
The party also described the increment as hasty and betrayal of trust on the part of the state government, accusing the governor of announcing the increment at a time the national leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was negotiating a N56,000 minimum wage for civil servants.
Chairman of the party, Chief Dan Orbih, who stated this in a statement in Benin, said everybody knows that the real challenge in the state civil service was about recruiting employable youths into the service and not about deceiving the people with unrealistic wage increase.
According to Orbih, while the number of political appointees of the governor has continued to increase on daily basis that of civil servants has continually dwindled due to dearth of workers and retirement of existing workers without replacing them, adding that the salary increase was too little, too late.
“This is a Greek gift to Edo workers considering the fact that the governor has continually neglected workers’ welfare and treated them with disdain before now. Who does not know the motive behind this fake gesture that is coming at a time every state in the federation is facing economic recession?
“As at the time of the windfall, he (Oshiomhole) did not pay workers for many months. Right now, local government workers are being owed over six months salary. Retirees’ pensions and entitlements are also not being paid under Oshiomhole’s watch.
“We are beginning to see Oshiomhole as a slave driver going by his policy on workers’ welfare. Here is a governor, who has never recruited workers into the civil service since he became governor, but is now talking about salary increase in the twilight of his administration.