At a time many have complained that governors are not showing fruits of increase in allocations they get, Gov. Hope Uzodimma of Imo may have strategically responded and challenged his colleagues.
He has approved a new minimum wage of N104,000 for civil servants in the state.
Eyes will now be on other states, especially places like Lagos, Rivers and Delta where IGRs are phenomenally higher.
Uzodimma made this known during a meeting with various labour union leaders on Tuesday night at the Government House in Owerri.
Similarly, the minimum wage of doctors was raised from N215,000 to N503,000, while that of tertiary institution teachers increased from N119,000 to N222,000, among others.
The governor had increased the minimum wage from N76,000 to N104,000.
He said Imo citizens had faced numerous challenges since his government took office, including insecurity, the COVID-19 pandemic, economic hardship from reform policies, and disputes over minimum wage and subsidy removal.
“There is no way any government will do well if it doesn’t have a friendly and cordial relationship with the organised labour.
“When workers are paid well, productivity rises, families are happier, and the local economy grows.
“This is our way of investing in Imo people. Government believes in stimulating political and economic activities, carrying bureaucrats along, and making sure that workers’ welfare was highly respected,” he said.
Uzodimma said that the state Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) had grown from N400 million to over N3 billion monthly.
According to him, in 2020, we were receiving allocations between N5 billion to N7 billion, but has increased to N14 billion.
“In 2020, the state recorded a debt profile of over N280 billion but has reduced to less than N100 billion,” he added.
The governor recalled that when he assumed office in 2020, the major infrastructure in all sectors were totally collapsed.
He said a lot had been expended to rebuild the collapsed infrastructure especially roads and combating the insecurity challenges.
He stressed that the removal of fuel subsidy had equally raised the cost of living in Nigeria as much as it had its own advantages.
“It is a thing of joy that we have started seeing the dividends of that bold decision of President Bola Tinubu to remove fuel subsidy.
“What government is confronted with now is how to ensure that the dividends of that policy trickles down to the common man on the street.
“Cognisant of the fact that our effort has started yielding dividends and that our IGR had improved and that reform policies of the President has also increased our allocations to sub-national governments, every responsible government must be transparent about it,” he said.
The governor further said that the state government will on Aug. 27, begin payment of the last batch of gratituity of N16 billion owed pensioners in the state.
He said his administration had carried out major reforms in the health sector, including initiating health insurance scheme and equipping health facilities to ensure world class treatment for Imo citizens.
He said his government had keyed into the Federal Government project of establishing 1,000 businesses in every active INEC ward.
He charged labour unions to unite to foster good working relations between labour and government,
Uzodimma, who solicited for value addition from workers, also cautioned them against unethical practices and redundancy at work.
Responding, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Uchechigemezu Nwigwe described the increase in minimum wage in the state as “victory for the entire work force in the state.”
Nwigwe said Uzodimma did not only rescue the workers from the economic challenges, but had made the state one of the highest in payment of minimum wage.
“Today, no worker in Imo will say you (Uzodimma) have not been fair to us,” he noted.
Nwigwe prayed God to continue to protect the governor, assuring him that workers will reciprocate the gesture with more diligent, efficient and effective service.
Also speaking, the state Chairman of Trade Union Congress, Mr Uchenna Ibe, also lauded the governor for his “strong political will in taking up strong projects, including the increase in minimum wage.”
