New minimum wage will make me work harder, says Fayemi

By Gbenga Sodeinde, Ado Ekiti

Governor of Ekiti state, Kayode Fayemi, has stated that the newly approved minimum wage of N30, 000 will make him and his government work harder.

Fayemi explained that apart from fulfilling promises to the people that the task of delivering on his promises has become more convoluted and tasking by the N30, 000 minimum wage, which he said his government was ready to pay to workers.

The governor stated that Ekiti people must start seeing evidence of governance now that a full complement of commissioners and special advisers have been appointed to drive his four-cardinal agenda.

He therefore, advised members of his cabinet to work tirelessly for his administration to deliver good performance to the people

The governor spoke at the Royal Park Hotel, Iloko Ijesa, Osun state on Thursday, while declaring open a three- days- retreat organized by the state government political appointees and technocrats in the state civil service.

At the retreat attended by over 100 senior public servants, Fayemi also declared that his succession plan will be determined largely by the level of dividends of democracy offered the populace.

He said public servants, especially those in charge of revenue must brace up for the task of generating more funds for the state to be able to meet the new wage demand.

“We have to be focused on how to deliver on our promises to the people, that is why you will sign to a performance agreement at the end of every quarter and if you think what we set for you is too high, then you bow out.

“We have to take reclaiming Ekiti values from the level of promise to reality. I know you need resources and there must be plans on how these will be provided and measured to the extent to which you have delivered.

“The task ahead is tedious, but not insurmountable. Most of the states used to fail because they don’t have plans and have nothing to deliver. There must be something measurable to be put in place and that can be evaluated periodically as a government.

“There are more obligations to attend to apart from the N30, 000 minimum wage. If we do well, it will give us the leverage to put up a government that will sustain the programme of our administration after our tenure because no single government can do it alone. So, performance is key to our government,” he said.