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…Payment takes effect  from Oct 2023
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By Bukayo Agboluaje, IbadanÂ
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Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, on Monday, agreed to commence the payment of workers’ wage award of N25,000 and N15,000 each for both workers and pensioners in the state.
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Makinde noted that the amount announced as wage award for both workers and pensioners would add additional N2.2 billion  on the state government’s wage bill for each month, amounting to N13.2 billion in six months.
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The governor also assured workers and pensioners that they would start receiving payment alerts from their respective banks before the week runs out.
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The governor disclosed this while addressing workers who besieged the governor’s Agodi Secretariat office.
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It would be recalled  that the workers had last month  threatened to embark on an indefinite strike should the government fail to meet their demands of wage increase following the announcement of the federal government wage award of N35,000.
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Though the workers demanded that the payment must start from September, Makinde said considering the finances of the state, the payment would take effect in October.
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He added that the wage award has been designed to last for six months through which the state government would have been able to work out a sustainable package for civil servants in the state.
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While calling on the protesting workers to show more understanding, Makinde explained that he understood that the economy was biting hard on household finances due to fuel subsidy removal and naira-dollar exchange rate.
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He said the current economic situation calls for deeper partnership and cooperation between government and workers rather than having the ‘we against them’ disposition stressing that the present economic situation would pass with collective efforts.
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Makinde said: “We’re talking with your leaders, there are one or two things I want to point out and it should be concerning to us in Oyo State. How come that Lagos that is 120km away, their IGR is N60 billion plus monthly, and we’re struggling between N3.5 and N3.8 billion. It was N1.8 billion when we came in during our first tenure. So, we must decide if we want to work together to improve the economy of Oyo State. If we provide economic prosperity in Oyo State, it would reach everybody’’.
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Makinde said the N2.2 billion would have a direct impact on the state’s finances but expressed determination to make his promise to the workers come to fruition.
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The governor noted that it would further stretch the state government capacity but it was a situation that must be addressed which was why his government made the wage award announcement reassuring that workers would start to get payment alerts before the week runs out.
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Makinde added: “We all understand that it’s a challenging period for us as a nation and as a state, you have to look at your pocket to see what we can do, so for every pensioner in the state, we will give them N15,000 monthly for the next six months and I guarantee it is starting from October, but they’re asking we start by September and I told them I don’t know if we had enough money. And for workers, we’re doing N25,000 to cushion the effects of these  economic challenges that we’re all going through’’.
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The Chairman, Oyo state chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress, Kayode Martins told journalists that the Governor’s gesture should put to an end all agitations for wage award.
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