FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
President of Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Festus Osifo has commended Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State for prioritising the welfare of workers and increasing the minimum wage to N70,000, which is the highest in the country.
Osifo, who gave the commendation during a courtesy visit at the Government House, Benin City, praised the governor for his administration’s achievements in the last seven and a half years, noting that it has taken Edo to enviable heights.
“This is the first courtesy call we are paying to any governor in Nigeria. In fact, on a few occasions, we have actually been invited by a few governors. What we normally do is to check their records if they are good and have performed well, if the records are not good, we don’t go because we could easily be blackmailed that a government that is not doing well wants to use us, especially when it concerns the plight of workers.
“We are here to tell you thank you for some of the things that you have done for workers in Edo State. Starting with the fact that on April 29, you invited us to commission a very befitting secretariat for the labour movement in Nigeria. On that day, everybody that came to that event will attest to the fact that it is one of the best,” he said.
In response, Governor Obaseki said one of his agenda is to build Edo as a tourist state where people would be told things that make the state outstanding in Nigeria, which include being the home of the labour movement.
