Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state has stated that his administration does not plan to downsize its workforce despite paucity of fund, inherited debt and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shortly after he assumed office, his government reportedly experienced financial constraints as he discovered that there was no money left to pay the state’s workforce.
The governor lamented that he had to run to his friends in the private sector, including banks, who loaned him N7 billion with which he paid the workers.
And on May 1st, he disclosed that the most pressing issue confronting him was how to commence the payment of the minimum wage as agreed between his administration and the organised labour in the state.
The governor said he was aware of organised labour’s expectations of his government in respect of workers’ welfare, and he stated that his administration was weighing its options amid the impact of the COVID–19 pandemic on the state resources.
He, however, assured that the administration has set up a joint committee with organised labour, to assess the impact of COVID-19 on staff welfare and identify all the outstanding issues and how they could be addressed in the wake of the pandemic.
Abiodun said: “By far the most pressing, however, is the commencement of the payment of the new minimum wage as agreed between government and labour, and some other related matters.
“As part of our administration’s sincere commitment to fulfill our part of the agreement on the payment, we have set up a joint committee with labour to assess the impact of COVID-19 on staff welfare and identify all the outstanding issues and how these could be addressed in the wake of COVID-19.”
