The Ondo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken aim at Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, criticizing his recent approval of a N73,000 minimum wage for state civil servants.
This announcement was made during the launch of his campaign for the November 16 governorship election, but the opposition has branded the gesture as insincere.
In a statement released by Ayo Fadaka, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity for the PDP Campaign Organization on Sunday,the party claimed that Aiyedatiwa’s actions were merely an attempt to win favor from workers ahead of the polls. The statement characterized the governor’s move as a “Greek gift” designed to deceive voters.
The PDP contended that Aiyedatiwa’s administration has failed the citizens of Ondo State, arguing that he should have raised salaries long before now. “We notice with amusement Governor Aiyedatiwa’s decision to raise the minimum wage in Ondo State from the federal government approved N70,000 to a paltry N73,000. This is obviously a hollow pretense that is calculated to present him as a workers’ friendly Governor, an assumption which falls flat on his face when due cognizance is taken of his failure to do this increment many months back. The fact that he is just doing this now is a mere pretence,” the statement read.
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The PDP further criticized the increase as a desperate attempt to mask the administration’s significant failures across various sectors. “In a brazen display of desperation, this marginal wage increment serves as a flimsy attempt to curry favour with the electorate, masking his administration’s colossal failures across every critical sector. It is a move that reeks of calculated deceit, aimed not at alleviating the suffering of the people but at securing their votes through shallow tokenism.”
The party argued that a true leader would have already tackled the underlying issues facing Ondo State, such as poverty and unemployment. “His administration has been defined by neglect, indifference, and a stark lack of empathy for the plight of the common man; rather than champion sustainable development and meaningful progress, he has opted to dangle this meagre wage increase as a political carrot, a last-ditch effort to manipulate and hoodwink the electorate in pursuit of his selfish political survival.”
In response, Allen Sowore, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Strategic Communications, dismissed the PDP’s claims as baseless and indicative of their ignorance regarding the current administration’s performance. “The minimum wage is a law—an Act of the National Assembly—that must be implemented by all governors in Nigeria. What Governor Aiyedatiwa has done is simply add an extra N3,000 to the minimum wage, which is commendable,” he stated.
Sowore emphasized the importance of timely action, explaining that the Ondo State government had already established a tripartite committee to handle salary adjustments, a process that has been ongoing for some time. “However, the opposition pretends as if all of this is happening just now.”
He concluded by asserting that the PDP has run out of ideas and resorted to misinformation. “Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has consistently prioritized the welfare of state workers since assuming office. In Ondo State, salaries are paid promptly, and even pensioners are not neglected.”
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