Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State on Sunday announced a new minimum wage of N25,000 with effect from May 1, 2016 for workers.

Oshiomhole who was addressing a rally organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), to mark this year’s Workers’ Day at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin, announced the increment from the present N18, 000 minimum.

“With effect from today, the new minimum wage for government workers shall now be N25,000, and the new minimum wage ‎will cut across board”, the former trade union leader said.

The workers who before the announcement had expressed dissatisfaction over their poor welfare jumped for joy and happily marched in appreciation of the new minimum wage as announced by the Governor.

Earlier in their respective speeches, the Chairman of NLC, Comrade Emma Ademokun and his TUC counterpart, Comrade Ohue Marshal, had expressed concern over a number of problems affecting Nigerians.

Some of them are the persistent scarcity of petroleum product, epileptic power supply and illegal electricity tariff increase.

They also mentioned spiralling increase in cost of living, insecurity, kidnapping, rampaging herdsmen, Boko Haram, irregular payment of salaries resulting in accumulation of arrears, growing rate of unemployment with the attendant social vices‎.

The Workers’ Day rally was however marred with low turn out of workers.
The new wage minimum wage comes at a time no fewer than 27 states in Nigeria are finding it difficult to pay workers.