Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has reassured public servants in the state that his administration won’t reduce minimum wage or retrench workers.
He also admonished other state governors to cut back on their expenses and the privileges they enjoy while in office.
According to a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, Fayose said this during the Agenda for the Treasury Board meeting held as part of preparation for the 2016 Budget.
He said “Today, most newspapers carried the story about the call by some state governors that the minimum wage of N18,000 be reduced or that there should be massive retrenchment of workers in the public service. They are on their own and I take exception to that. The minimum wage is even not enough.
“Reduction of wages or retrenchment of workers won’t happen in Ekiti State. Instead of those anti-labour and anti-people policies, the governors should cut down on their travels and tours and cut down on their minimum wives children and affluence. Let the governors cut their coats according to their sizes.
“Why are they changing the goal post when the match has started? It is an APC agenda; they are in the majority. When they were campaigning, there were indices of the looming economic challenges then, why did they not use that to campaign and see if people would vote for them?”
He urged the All Progressives Congress to stick by their campaign promises rather than renegading mid way.
He said “They (APC) should have told Nigerians then that the economy was bad and that they would sack workers and reduce their salaries while campaigning and see if they would win. They cannot just change the rules midway.
“If you sack somebody, it is like cutting down a tree. The person sacked has dependents and himself to cater for. If the government is owing, it is better. It will be on record that the government is owing and when the economy improves, we can then pay the workers rather than sacking them and sending them into the labour market. It is not my agenda to sack workers. Despite the low allocations coming to Ekiti State, I won’t do that.”