Oshiomole Criticizes Governors who Fail To Pay Salaries

The Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has criticised governors who fail to pay their workers, saying such act is criminal.
Mr. Oshiomhole said this while delivering a keynote address at a town hall organised by the Kukah Centre on Wednesday.
He said the failure to pay salaries violates the labour law, which stipulates when workers should be paid.

Mr. Oshiomhole said it was immoral for governors and national assembly members who enjoy fixed benefits to complain of resources to pay the national minimum wage.
“One thing I cannot accept is that if you cannot have a decentralized system of compensation for executives, governors, commissioners and local government chairmen, how can these governors turn around and question the wisdom of a national wage structures for workers. It is that selective application of fiscal federalism that I found extremely offensive and unacceptable,” he said.


“Even today I remain firm that we must maintain a national minimum wage and we must find ways to implement and adjust it to reflect the cost of living and it is the duty of government and employers to find the revenue to pay those they hired to work whether in private of government employed. Non-payment of wages is a criminal breach of contract whether in recession or prosperity,” Mr. Oshiomhole said.

“When the minimum wage was enacted, governors said it was not payable. But I said it was not meant to be convenient but that it was a law and that government and governors must be seen to obey the law.
“When the National assembly said they will decentralise the minimum wage, I insisted that it cannot be,” he added.