Starting in January 2025, Oyo State employees would receive an 86% pay increase.
According to a statement released by Prince Dotun Oyelade, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, the government will pay workers ₦11.9 billion per month instead of the present ₦6.4 billion starting on January 1, 2025, when the ₦80,000 minimum salary is paid.
The commissioner made this statement on Tuesday when he welcomed Comrade Kayode Martins, the chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in Oyo State, to his office.
Governor Seyi Makinde is committed to addressing worker welfare without sacrificing the well-being of the general populace or the vital sectors, according to Prince Oyelade.
In response, the chairman of the Oyo State NLC stated that, in comparison to other states and the federal government, Oyo State’s ₦80,000 minimum wage and related changes are more advantageous to workers at all grade levels.
Governor Seyi Makinde, who he called the “Workers’ Governor,” has consistently shown a love for workers, according to Comrade Martins.
Even before the federal government authorised the ₦70,000 minimum salary, Oyo was the first state to enforce the previous ₦30,000 minimum wage and began negotiating a new one with labour leaders.
While Ogun State added ₦42,000 across board on its consequential adjustments to the new minimum wage and the Federal Government added ₦40,000 across board for its workers, the labour leader claims that Oyo, which has the most workers in the Southwest and recently finished hiring 23,000 more workers for the State workforce, has done more for its workers.
According to him, the current Oyo State table shows that employees on Grades 1 through 6 have moved from earning ₦30,000 to ₦80,000, which translates to a pay increase of ₦50,000.
According to him, level 7 and higher employees now receive pay increases of ₦70,000, ₦80,000, ₦90,000, and even more than ₦180,000 on the consequential adjustment table.
For example, this has the dramatic meaning that a government employee on Grade Level 17 who currently makes ₦170,000 a month will suddenly make ₦360,000.
He pointed out that no Nigerian state has taken this action.
The Commissioner for Information went on to say that the Oyo State Government is now committed to paying over ₦143 billion in salaries and wages yearly, after Oyo workers’ salaries and wages increased by 86% from ₦6.4 billion to ₦11.9 billion every month.
According to Prince Oyelade, Governor Makinde is going above and beyond what any previous administration has ever done for the State’s workers.
He claimed that in order to prevent the promotion problem that existed prior to his inauguration in 2019, Governor Makinde took preemptive measures by announcing a four-year promotion of employees.
The NLC Chairman, Comrade Kayode Martins, concluded the visit by stating that the incentive civil and public officials receive for timely salary payments on the 25th of each month is incalculable in terms of raising employee morale and the state economy.
According to Comrade Martins, the friendly relationship between Governor Seyi Makinde and the labour unions was demonstrated during the most recent industrial action that the national labour union body organised on December 2, 2024, in which Oyo State was excused because of the friendly relationship that exists there.
E-signed on December 26, 2024, by Prince Dotun Oyelade, Honourable Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Oyo State