Fuel price hike: Edo state approves N40,000 new minimum wage for civil servants

Oredola Adeola

The Edo State Government has increased the minimum wage paid to civil servants in Edo State from the approved N30,000 to N40,000, surpassing N35,000 minimum wage approved by the Lagos State Government for its workers.

Governor Godwin Obaseki, Edo State, made this known in a statement obtained by EnergyDay, on the sideline of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, by the Federal Government.

According to him, fuel prices have increased astronomically leading to a rise in the prices of goods and services as well as the overall cost of living in the state.

He said, “The Edo State Government shares the pains of our people and wants to assure everyone that we are standing with them in these very challenging times.

“We want to reassure our people that we will do all within our powers as a sub-national government to reduce the pains and ameliorate the sufferings our people are currently facing due to the current realities.

“As a proactive government, we have since taken the step to increase the minimum wage paid to workers in Edo State from the approved N30,000 to N40,000, the highest in the country today. The Governor also assured the workers in the state of his administration’s commitment to paying the new salary.

Obaseki said, “We hope to increase it even further if more allocation accrues to our State from the Federal Government in view of the expected savings occasioned by the removal of the fuel subsidy. “We understand that the hardship that has been caused by this policy which has radically increased the cost of transportation, eating deep into the wages of workers in the State.

“Therefore, the Edo State Government is hereby reducing the number of work days that civil and public servants will have to commute to their workplaces from five days a week to three days a week till further notice. Workers will now work from home two days a week.

“Similarly, for teachers and parents, their commuting to school will be reduced as the government is working on deepening the EdoBEST@Home initiative to create more virtual classrooms, thereby reducing the cost of commuting on parents, teachers, and pupils. The Edo SUBEB will provide details on this initiative in the coming days,” Governor Obaseki said.

The Edo State Governor also emphasised that he would continue to negotiate with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to improve power supply to homes and businesses, in view of the rising cost of energy on citizens of Edo State.