Ajimobi: Minimum wage: Makinde kicks as Ajimobi negotiates with labour

THE Oyo State government will today open discussions with labour leaders on the modalities for the implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage, it was learnt yesterday.

It is coming on the heels of Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s promise to workers that they would enjoy the new pay as soon as the Federal Government approves it.

The minimum wage was signed into law by President Muhammad Buhari on April 18.

The government sent notice of the meeting to the labour leaders following the conduct of their congress, which produced Comrade Titiola Sodo as state chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC).

The message was signed by the Information Commissioner, Mr. Toye Arulogun.

But, the Governor-elect, Seyi Makinde, cautioned Ajimobi’s administration against the negotiation.

Makinde, in a statement by his spokesperson, Prince Dotun Oyelade, “queried the intention and sincerity of the outgoing government to open negotiation with the labour unions about 30 days to the exit of the Ajimobi.

The governor-elect said there “is nothing the lame duck government wants to achieve other than to complicate things for the incoming government in exactly the same manner it is doing in awarding fresh contracts and rolling out largesse to fellow politicians and friends”.

Emphasising that he looks forward to a progressive relationship with the new Sodo-led NLC excos, Makinde warns against what he described as “any booby traps in the planned negotiation by the outgoing government”.

The governor-elect noted that he was satisfied with the level of the rapport he had with the NLC during and after the election and hope that this would be maintained as the new NLC executive assumes the mantle of leadership.

He reiterated his commitment towards ensuring that nothing short of the interest of workers would be acceptable to his administration.

Makinde applauded the rancour-free consensus that heralded the new chairman as a good sign that democratic maturity has always been a virtue of the NLC, saying he believes that the new NLC leadership is circumspect enough to understand the ongoing theatrics.