*Having condemned Obaseki’s 70k minimum wage, Okpebholo embarrasses Edo workers with 5k on May 1*
By Gidigba Group
Yesterday, Edo workers were left in utter confusion when Edo governor, Monday Okpebholo, announced a 5k add on their salaries; the workers who expected better deal, being a day for the celebration of workers’ dedication, got the shocker of their life.
Before living office, former governor Godwin Obaseki had jacked up Edo minimum wage from 40k to 70k, representing about 40% increase, having moved it earlier from 30k to 40k—a development that spurred several other States to increase their minimum wage.
However, Okpebholo, lacking the slightest understanding of economics and governance, took to the media to condemn Obaseki’s gesture, tagging it a “greek gift”; his condemnation failed to thrend however, as he was talking from the point of a layman desperate to snatch power.
Today, Okpebholo is challenged with the vagaries of governance; having taken over the reigns of power since November last year, much of Okpebholo’s activities has been aimless movements from one end of Edo to another, with nothing significant achieved.
The Okpebholo-led administration has shown a lack of capacity to rally an economic team, the government runs offhand, with no policy thrust, no programme, no plan; even civil servants are beginning to lose touch with all the revolutionary reforms of the past administration, as most offices have returned to paper communication, knocking off the digital policy thrust enunciated by Obaseki.
Over six months of this administration, not one innovation has been launched, no signs of reforms, no FDI attracted, the administration has not added anything new to what it inherited from the past government; other than picking salaries and championing financial infractions, the administration and its runners appears incapacitated, with nothing significant to offer Edo people.
Having condemned Obaseki’s 70k gesture, one would expect Okpebholo to act noble, but that the governor could only muscle out 5k for workers on May 1 is a stark reminder of the retrogression and utter cluelessness bedevling the administration, signalling an uncertain future for Edo on Okpebholo’s watch.