“I Am A Militant” – Oshiomhole Declares

Gov. Adams Oshiomhole says for any government
to make progress, it must maintain a national
minimum wage.
Oshiomhole said this in Abuja on Wednesday
during a forum tagged ‘The Podium’, organised by
The Kukah Centre in collaboration with the Ford
Foundation.
The programme, which seeks an interface
between the electorate and policy makers, had
the theme: “From Activism to Political Power:
The Challenges of Democratic Governance in
Nigeria”.
According to Oshiomhole, a labourer is worthy of
his wages, meaning if an employer is owing, he is
breaching a contract.
“’This is where I’m different. I still insist any
government who wants to be taken seriously
must have a national minimum wage.
“We must maintain a national minimum wage,
look for ways to increase it; that is what I still
advocate for.”
Giving an informal account of his stewardship and
why he carried out most of his actions, the
governor said he stayed true to his activism years
by not owing salaries.
He explained that as a former factory worker
himself, he understood the importance of wages
and that was why he increased workers salaries in
Edo by 38 per cent.
“Activism is not synonymous with being
progressive. I believe we should all be idealistic
and not dismiss the possibility of an ideal society.
“One man’s idealism is another man’s reality.
Wages paid to people is not burden.
“In Edo we increased it to 38 per cent and I’m
proud to still pay before the last day of every
month.”
He explained that complaints about salaries from
the state were mostly about the 18 months
pension arrears he inherited and the inability of
local governments to pay their staff.
“We respect the autonomy of the Local
Government but we insisted that if they cannot
do environmental sanitation, waste management,
grading rural roads, cleaning up the market at
least you must pay the teachers’ salaries.
“So I am not responsible for non-payment at that
level. Non-payment of wages is a criminal breach
in the law of contract.
“You can pay daily, weekly, monthly but not in
excess of 30 days, you are breaching the
agreement.”
Oshiomhole said as an activist he was in
governance to know the ropes, know how to help
people and counter concepts like god-fatherism
in politics.
“I have been militant, will remain a militant and
retire a militant not with guns. I don’t burst
pipelines but we must react to sayings like the ‘if
you can’t beat them join them’.”
The Chairman of the occasion, former Gov. Donald
Duke of Rivers, said he advocates improvement in
society.
“Sadly politicians in our society are merely
jobbers and budget padders. We advocate
improvement and not change.
“We had a violent change in 1966, so change is
not necessarily the way to go. Improvements
however makes things happen, develops societies
and affects the people positively.”
Bishop Mathew Kukah, the Convener of the
event, said the essence of the forum was to
design programmes that encourage debate and
free exchange of ideas.
“To serve as a mediating platform between the
government, citizens and communities.
“Also, to enhance the quality of leadership
training at all levels both in the public and non-
governmental sectors.”
Activists from all sectors and relevant
stakeholders attended the event.