Minimum wage: After God, thank Tinubu, Oyebanji tells Ekiti workers

Biodun Oyebanji, governor of Ekiti, says workers in the state should be grateful to President Bola Tinubu for the new minimum wage.

The governor spoke on Monday when civil servants visited his office in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, to thank him for updating their December salary to reflect the minimum wage.

Oyebanji noted that some state governments would not have been able to pay the new minimum wage without the reforms that increased allocations to their coffers.

The governor urged the workers to be dedicated to their duties and cooperate with the government, assuring them of more salary increases once the state gets more resources.

He also thanked Tinubu for “the courage and boldness to walk a lonely path”.

“Honestly, I don’t think you should thank me,” the governor said.

“We have not done anything unusual. You worked hard and got paid by the government.

“But I thank you also for showing appreciation. Thank God, and after God, the only person you should thank is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“I’m saying this because what you are seeing today are the outcomes of the reforms he embarked on.

“You know states would not have been able to pay the minimum wage if there had not been a remarkable improvement in our allocation.

“When he embarked on the reforms, he did so having in mind that it may be painful initially, but at the end of the day, it will be in the interest of all of us.

“My plea to you is to support the president. It can get better because N70,000 is just the minimum; we can go beyond it if our situation improves, and I know that by the time all these reforms start to bear fruit, there will be a quantum increase in what comes to the states, and we can come to you and say yes, we can afford to add more.

“I thank President Bola Tinubu for the courage and boldness to walk a lonely path, because when he embarked on the reforms, most people didn’t believe in him, but because he is a leader that is future-thinking, he has been able to achieve more.

“My advice to workers is that we should remain steadfast, be patient, and cooperate with the government.

“We should also educate others on the usefulness of these reforms to our survival as a nation.”