The Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole has said state governors have the capacity to pay the N18,000 minimum wage.
Oshiomhole who spoke with State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, said the welfare of the people was the main business of state governors.
He said: “With due respect to my colleagues, it is offensive to talk about minimum wage. How can the food of the steward be the reason that the elders cannot eat. I mean by conventional wisdom. If there is crisis in the system, it’s the excess fat that will share fats not the skeletons. The idea of using minimum is very offensive.
Oshiomhole noted that the problem with Nigeria is that whenever the country is confronted with economic problem, its citizens tend to look for escape routes.
He said, “Those are not the heart of the challenges, we must go to the heart of challenges, we must revisit issues. I also believe it is simplistic to believe that one drug will cure all the ailments in the various states. ”
The Edo State Governor further called on each state to design appropriate measures to deal with its problems since every state’s problem is unique.
“The problem in one state is not the same with the one in Edo state. Everybody will have to deal with its own. Lastly I also think that if anybody wants to talk about federalism, lets not talk about federalism where it affects the wages of the lowest paid.
“I have asked this question why should Edo state governor recieve the same salary as the governor of Lagos State when the population of Lagos State is doubled that of Edo state and their GDP is much higher. Why should I receive the same pay as the governor of Zamfara state or Akwa Ibom, these states are richer by accident of location.
“If we want to preach this principle we are in a federal system, everybody should pay according to his cost of living, the cost of governing Edo state is not the same cost as governing Lagos State. So why should the revenue mobilization fix my pay and that of Lagos State. If we want to run a true federalism, start from the top that is leading by example,” he said.
“We cannot protect people at the top and attack the people at the bottom and this has nothing to do with the fact that I was once a labour leader. Even if I was my, the truth remains that wages is not a burden to the economy. People need to understand that if we are not careful, assuming we are suggesting we abolish wages, we have no money, people don’t earn and therefore they cannot spend, they are excluded from the economy, that fact of exclusion will have devastating impact on the consumption level of the economy.
“You need to put more money in the hands of low income people whose consumption pattern will stimulate the economy and make the manufacturers to respond.” he said
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