Minimum Wage: We are on same page with civil servants — Makinde
Posted by News Express | 22 December 2019 | 668 times
Oyo State Governor,
Engineer Seyi Makinde, on Saturday, said that his government was on the same
page with civil servants on the new N30,000 minimum wage for workers.
The Governor, who noted
that his administration had only on Friday set up a committee to oversee the
negotiation and implementation of the new minimum wage, stated that civil
servants and the government were going to be reasonable on the all-important
matter.
A statement signed by
the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, indicated that
Governor Makinde made the disclosure during the quarterly live interview
programme, “Meet the Governor”, on the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State
(BCOS).
The statement added that
the Governor alerted the people to a number of noticeable achievements and
deliverables recorded by his administration within the last 200 days, just as
he informed that his administration was able to deliver so far due to prudent
management of resources.
Besides, he also said
that he and members of his administration have been making sacrifices, as
according to him, service to the people has been of uppermost concern.
Governor Makinde stated
that his government has never kept the organised Labour in the state and all
stakeholders in dark over the resources accruing to the state.
He added that though the
state was already aware of the cost implication of the new minimum wage, the
government and the civil servants would be reasonable because they were heading
in the same direction of delivering good governance and development to Oyo
State.
The Governor, who
addressed a wide range of issues raised by the three-man panel of interviewers
and residents of the states who made phone calls into the programme, said that
though the government had been getting a good report about security in the
state following the immense efforts of the administration in redesigning the
security architecture; distribution of security vehicles and procurement of
communication equipment, among other steps, it was not going to rest on its
oars.
He commended the security
agents saddled with the responsibility of policing the state and the people for
their cooperation, noting that statistics have shown that the state has
recorded the lowest crime rates in this Yuletide period.
He stated that the
development was a confirmation of the fact that his administration has taken
security a notch higher in the state.
He said: “On the minimum
wage issue, yesterday [Friday], we set up the committee that will engage with
the Nigeria Labour Congress. The truth is, if we don’t deceive ourselves,
everyone will be reasonable. NLC too knows that we are open with the amount of
money we are getting as federal allocation. That is why we are in harmony.
“I have told them that
we are going to get the matter resolved and they keyed into that because of the
sincerity of purpose and transparency, they have found in this government. In
fact, we know the cost-implication of the new minimum wage and the formula the
Federal Government brought out on it.
“If we adopt it without
negotiating, we know the amount that will still be needed to meet up. And we
also put it on the table to them to analyse if Oyo State really can meet up
with the amount that will be needed aside undertaking some other development
projects in the state.
“One thing I can promise
the people is, this is a new government, a new dawn and there is a new thinking
between government and all other stakeholders, because we are all pulling in
one single direction, which is delivering good governance and development
agenda.”
Governor Makinde stated
that the reason his administration has been able to pay workers salaries,
pensions and gratuities as and when due as well as record some other key
deliverables across the four key pillars of his administration was due to the
prudent management of resources and the personal sacrifices of all political
office holders in the state.
He explained that among
the various measures employed by the administration to effectively manage
resources in other to have funds for developmental projects, he and other
functionaries in the government had been using their private vehicles in the
last six months, noting that this step has saved the state up to N3 billion to
N4 billion, which could have been expended on vehicles.
He explained further
that his administration has put an end to the era of frivolous approvals, while
also giving clear-cut priorities to projects and programmes that can be
embarked upon in the interest of Oyo State people.
Governor Makinde
maintained that the new thinking and approach, apart from freeing up funds for
the development has also contributed to raising the interest of the private
sector in partnering with the government to develop the state.
He said that one of the
benefits the state has derived from his style of administration was the fact
that the beautification efforts on major roundabouts in Ibadan with Christmas
Lighting Systems around Ibadan, the state capital was done by the private
sector at no cost to the state.
He said: “It is true
that when we came in, we cannot be talking about the money we met on the ground
because if we do, some people won’t be allowed to walk freely in the street. If
you look at it, till now, I am using my personal cars for office work. We have
not also gotten cars for any of the political office holders. If we want to get
that done, we will be talking about N3 billion or 4billion Naira. So, we
stepped it down. We had to prioritise on what we think we can do for the people
of Oyo State who gave us this mandate.
“We wanted to see how we
can stabilise the government to suit the interest of the people first and not
running after our selfish interest. We need to say this too; those that are
involved should take note of this. On the 6th of May, those who worked with the
past administration collected N5.2 billion and left 19,000 Naira as of the 29th
of May. Those involved will still have to explain to the people.
“That was why we had to
seek the approval of the State Assembly to borrow 10 billion Naira because I
have to be honest, I was very scared. We found out that the state’s funds were
in about 60 accounts. In one account, we found 300 million Naira. In another,
we found 20 million Naira and many others like that. So, I called the
Accountant-General that the monies which are in different accounts should be
pulled together and, after that was done, it amounted to about 6 billion Naira.
We summoned ministries, departments, and agencies to come and give an account
of what the monies were meant for. After we did that, we were able to get some
money to start doing some things in the state.
“Also, our internally
generated revenue has gone up a little bit because we have been able to block
some loopholes of financial recklessness. Some people approached me on the way
they used to go about sharing money but I shunned them.
“I want to also tell the
people that the government did not spend a dime on Christmas on the street.
Some people came and said they have made it a point of duty to always gift some
money to the Governor every year. So, I told them not to give me anything. I
asked the Commissioner for Finance to pull all the money together and look for
someone that can do Christmas Decoration for the state. So, all the monies went
into the beautification exercise we are seeing today. I believe that we have to
continue on that path of parsimony. Until we finish expanding our economy, that
is when respite can come to us all.
“Even, the civil
servants know that any frivolous approval will not fly, once it gets to my
table. So, that is how we have been managing with the available resources,
which has made us achieve what we have on the ground now.
“If you also look at
some of the projects we have awarded, contractors have cut down on the bill
they charged us. When we awarded the Moniya-Iseyin road, it was for 9.9billion
Naira. The one awarded by the Federal Government was double that amount and
even a palliative measure awarded on the same road was awarded by the previous
administration, you know how much it was. What we are embarking on is a total
reconstruction project and the contractor we gave the job to assured us that
nothing will happen to the road for the next ten years. So, from all the
wastages we have been cutting out, we have achieved a lot for the people. The
good work has not stopped, it is extravagant spending that we have stopped.”
On the issue of the
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Governor Makinde maintained
the committee set up by the state to negotiate with a similar committee from
Osun State had been given a term of reference, to negotiate separation of
ownership from Osun State. He said that he was confident that with the quality
of individuals on the committee, the state would get a positive result.
Source: News Express
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