Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, thursday said with the dwindling allocation state governments received from the federal government, only eight governors would be able to implement the proposed new national minimum wage.
Amosun has also insisted that his preferred governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, Hon. Adekunle Abdulkabir Akinlade, would emerge as his successor in office, so that he can build on his legacy.
The governor who spoke at a town hall meeting held at June 12 Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, argued that state governors are not magicians and miracle workers that would turn things around overnight, adding that many states are still struggling with the current minimum wage.
“The situation now is like an old woman with load walking gently; if she now adds more loads, she won’t walk at all.
“With N18,000 minimum wage, as we speak in this country, only seven or eight governors are able to pay full salaries.
“We are not magicians or miracle workers that will turn things around; we are only making to do with what we have; nobody has the money”.
According to him, the government will remain unwavering in the development of the people, adding that the success recorded by the current administration was as a result of support received from all stakeholders.
He said that poverty had reduced to the barest minimum in the state and assured that the state would remain enviable among its peers.
Also, the governor enjoined stakeholders in Ogun State to continue to complement government’s efforts towards ensuring proper annexing of the socio economic potentials available in the state for further developments.
Amosun seized the occasion to insist that his acclaimed governorship candidate for APC, Akinlade, would emerge as his successor in office, come May 29 , 2019 elections, so that he can build on his legacy.
He averred that nobody could stop his preferred candidate from assuming the number one office in the State.
He said, “we are going to win every local government in the state, including the local governments where our enemies are; we are ready for them. We shall meet them there”
Speaking on the development in the state, Amosun said he had done what the past administrations failed to do, saying that the best candidate who will continue from where he stopped is Akinlade.
He further stated his commitment towards ensuring that his candidate succeed him in office and called on the people of the state to ignore side attractions and give their support to the man of the people.
In his own address, the state Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mrs. Aderenle Adesina, said the current administration considered the abundant human and natural resources in the state and had since inception, maximised the opportunities for economic gains, and called on the people to contribute to the drive.
According to her, the state has enjoyed improved infrastructural facilities and business-friendly environment to attract investors, which has added positive values to the economic growth of the state.
A representative of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mrs. Elegberun, decried the deplorable state of roads in the industrial part of Ogun State, citing Agbara, Lusada and Atan as case study.
She, however, pleaded with the governor to help halt the excess tax levied on the companies operating within the State.
