Oyo State Governor, SEYI MAKINDE on Monday says workers and pensioners in the state would receive a monthly cash award of N25,000 and N15,000 for the next six months.
The governor stated this when he addressed the workers at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, during a solidarity rally.
He called for concerted efforts from the workforce and the people of the state in developing the state’s economy for the long term, adding that once there is economic prosperity in the state, everyone would be touched.
He pledged his administration’s readiness to work on legacy projects for which it would be remembered, decades after he leaves office.
Makinde maintained that the wage award of N25,000 and N15,000 respectively for workers and pensioners would be paid for the month of October and subsequently for another five months until an agreement is reached on a new minimum wage.
He added that the cash award would result in an additional N2.2 billion on the state’s monthly wage bill, stating that there are many gaps to be filled in the state cutting across the infrastructure, health and education sectors, hence the need for understanding from the workers.
The governor told the workers that he had held a meeting with labour leaders and had reached an agreement to help cushion the effect of the economic challenges on the workers.
The Federal Government did N35,000 and I said what can we do in Oyo State and we have agreed that we would do a cash award too.
MAKINDE affirmed that the state has put in place the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) initiative, which comprised interventions through food relief, ease of transportation, empowerment of farmers, agripreneurs and small scale business operators as well as health insurance for residents and pensioners to mitigate the effects of the economic hardship on residents of the state.
He explained that the wage award is meant to make things go well for workers, and by extension the teeming population of the state.
In his response, the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, Oyo State chapter, KAYODE MARTINS, said the declaration by the government had ended all grievances and lauded the development .