"Why N70,000 Minimum Wage Is Not Enough": Analyst Reacts as Obaseki Increases Workers' Salary

• Godwin Obaseki, the governor of Edo state, has been criticised for the recent announcement of N70,000 as new minimum wage.
• Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, a public analyst, in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, explained that the N70,000 minimum wage cannot sustain a family
• According to the analyst, a worker with a family cannot pay for electricity, medical, and transportation bills and still feed his family with N70,000 more than a week

Legit.ng journalist Bada Yusuf is an accomplished politics and current affairs editor, boasting over seven years of experience in journalism and writing.

Benin, Edo - Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state has been knocked over the recent announcement of the new minimum wage for workers in the south-south state.

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In an interview with Legit.ng, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani explained that the governor's new minimum wage was not enough to tackle the current reality.

Obaseki announces new minimum wage

Obaseki announced the N70,000 new minimum wage for state workers on Monday, April 29. He noted that if the federal government announced something higher than that, his administration would make adjustments.

The governor made the announcement at the commissioning of the new Labour House in Benin, the state capital.

Reacting to the development, Rafsanjani lamented that the current government has bastardised the country's situation. He stressed that the high fuel price increase has skyrocketed the country's cost of living.

How Obaseki poorly managed Edo

According to him, Obaseki has poorly managed the state. He said announcing a new minimum wage ahead of the state's governorship election may not reduce the increase in hopelessness.

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He said:

"If you go to Edo state, you will see an increase in cybercrime among young people. There is an increase in prostitution and hopelessness. All these are because of the bad governance in the state. He has spent eight years fighting political opponents in the state."

"Therefore, what he has done, even though it appears to be a good gesture. It is basically to create difficulty for the incoming administration."

He further explained how the N70,000 minimum wage did not conform with today's reality in Nigeria. He said:

"Even the N70,000 proposal did not conform to today's reality. If you have children, you have to pay school fees, medical bills, rent, transportation, and food. There is no way such an amount can take you more than five working days."

Obaseki knocked for shunning Shaibu's handshake

Legit.ng earlier reported that some Nigerians also accused Obaseki of playing a childish game with his ex-deputy, Philip Shaibu.

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This followed a clip of the governor shunning a handshake from Shaibu at Governor Douiye Diri of Bayelsa's second-term inauguration.

While some Nigerians condemned the governor's action, others shared contrary views.

Source: Legit.ng