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Why I raised Edo minimum wage to N70,000 – Obaseki

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The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has explained the reasons behind the increase in the minimum wage for workers in the state from N40,000 to N70,000.

Obaseki said it was due to the recent exchange rate devaluation, economic realities, high food prices, inflation and willingness to get people to work better.

Speaking on Channels Television’s programme Politics Today on Monday, the governor said his administration felt the pain of the state’s workers and implemented the move to make life better for them.

He added that the current national economic realities were forces beyond his control, but he could not continue to let workers languish in pain and penury.

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Justifying the increment, Obaseki said, “The government and governance are about our people. You cannot claim to be doing well as a government if your people are in penury and unhappy.

“In 2011, when minimum wage was 18,000, the exchange rate was N150/$. So, by calculations, workers in Edo State were taking home $120 home monthly. When we increased the minimum wage to N40,000 in 2022, the exchange rate at that time was N415. So, workers were getting about $96, which was a discount on what they were earning in 2011.

“Even as of today, with the N70,000 minimum wage, the current exchange rate with over N1,000 pegged their take home at $55 which is less than what they were earning two years ago.

“For us in Edo State, we believe that the issue is about productivity. Paying people well so that they can produce more. Not pretending that you are paying them a salary when you know that it can not motivate them to produce more.

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“We are never a flippant state; we look at our numbers carefully, and because we understood that this was going to happen, we took measures to mitigate the situations we found ourselves in today. So, we undertook fundamental reforms in our public services.

Cutting our IPP so I don’t buy diesel at the rate people are buying diesel to run power in the state and government facilities. We moved our operations to a digital platform. So we don’t spend money on stationery and other costs that we will use to run the governance.

“By the time we harness all our savings, we will have a lot of money to pay the workers,” he added.

Fielding questions on the possible increase in overhead, pension and gratuities in the 2024 budget, the Edo governor stressed that he was going to the state assembly with the revised budget to accommodate the new development.

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He said, “My overhead budget this year is about N89 billion, whereas my personal costs are about N65 billion. So I want to move more money from overhead to paying more salaries to the people and the taxes generated from the state.”

He further maintained that the new development would be sustained because the money was in the budget, adding, “If the Federal Government imposes something higher, we would look at what at the economic realities in the state and make the necessary adjustments.”

Earlier today, Obaseki announced that workers will now begin to earn N70,000 at the inauguration of the newly built ultra-modern Labour House secretariat complex for labour unions in the state, along Temboga Road, Ikpoba-Hill, Benin City.

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NECO accredits more foreign schools for SSCE, BECE

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The National Examinations Council (NECO) has given accreditation to more foreign schools to write the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).

The Acting Director, Information and Public Relations, Mr. Azeez Sani, disclosed this in a statement.

The newly accredited schools are in Niger Republic and Equatorial Guinea.

“NECO Accreditation Team visited the Schools to assess their readiness to write the SSCE and BECE.

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“The Accreditation Team inspected classrooms, laboratories, libraries, computer laboratories, workshops, examination halls and sport facilities to determine their adequacy and suitability for NECO Examinations.

“After a thorough evaluation and comprehensive assessment, the schools were granted full SSCE and full BECE accreditation status,” the statement said.

The statement added that the accreditation of additional foreign schools is a testament to NECO’s commitment to providing quality education and assessment beyond the shores of Nigeria.

“With its expanding global presence, NECO is poised to become a leading examination body in Africa, offering opportunities for students worldwide to benefits from its expertise, thus contributing to the advancement of education in Africa and beyond.”

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In another development, the statement disclosed that candidates are participating in the on-going NECO SSCE External in Diffa, Niger Republic.

“The UNHCR School, Diffa, Niger Republic is the first NECO SSCE External Centre outside Nigeria.”

NECO examinations are now written by candidates in Benin Republic, Togo, Cote’ d’Ivoire, Niger Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Saudi Arabia.

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Guardiola suffers worst defeat of career as Tottenham hammer Man City 4-0

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Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, suffered the worst defeat of his managerial career as they lost 4-0 to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday night.

The Premier League champions were already on a run of four consecutive defeats ahead of the visit of the North London side.

James Maddison scored twice in the first half to set Spurs on their way to a sensational win.

Pedro Porro drilled in a third, before Brennan Johnson got on the scoresheet late in the game.

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The result leaves City in second place with 23 points. They could go eight points behind Liverpool by the end of this Game Week.

Guardiola takes his men to Anfield next weekend.

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FUOYE Re-Marks Exam Papers of Student Failed By Lecturer Over Sex-for-Grade Scandal, Secures Justice

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The Federal University, Oye Ekiti, Ekiti State, has cleared a female student, Ramota Olahanloye, to graduate following the re-marking of her final-year examination scripts.

Olahanloye had alleged that a lecturer, Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia, demanded sexual favours from her, and when she declined, he deliberately failed her in two final-year courses.

In a statement issued on Friday by the Special Adviser on Media to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Wole Balogun, the university confirmed that Olahanloye’s allegations were investigated, and her scripts were re-marked.

“The young lady’s scripts were re-marked, and she performed fairly better than the scores initially awarded by Dr. Anthony Agbegbedia,” the statement read.

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According to Balogun, the university management approved Olahanloye’s revised results, which qualified her for graduation.

“The university management has given executive approval for her results to be processed. She has since commenced her final clearance from relevant units of the university,” the statement added.

Balogun also disclosed that Agbegbedia had been sanctioned by the institution for his misconduct.

Olahanloye expressed her joy over the resolution of the case, saying, “I am happy that I have gotten justice, and I really appreciate the university Vice-Chancellor for setting up the committee that investigated the matter.

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“I was shown my entire results, including the graduation list with my name on it. I have started my clearance as a graduating student of the university, and I am truly happy.”

Her father, Rasaki Olahanloye, also lauded the university for its commitment to justice.

“I can confirm to the world that FUOYE has served justice to my daughter. I was shown her upgraded results after her scripts were re-marked, and it is clear that she passed.

“The university fulfilled its promise to ensure fairness, and I appreciate the VC, Prof. Sunday Fasina, and the committee members for ensuring my daughter gets justice,” he said.

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