The outgoing governor of Oyo State, Chief Adebayo Alao-Akala, has turned down the
request of the Governor-elect, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, to stop the implementation of the
N18,000 minimum wage for the state workers.


In a statement by his spokesman, Mr. Dotun Oyelade, on Monday, the governor regretted
his inability to accede to the request under any circumstance, saying the promise to pay the
minimum wage, which he voluntarily made on March 29, 2011, 29 days before the governorship
election, had become a covenant between him and the workers.


Alao-Akala took exception to the description of his action as suspicious and controversial, saying
that he gave the promise, convinced that he would be the one to implement it.


“What kind of leader will I be if I have to acquiesce to reneging on a promise I made to my people?


“I wish to leave behind a legacy of policy consistency,” he said.


He disagreed with Ajimobi that it was morally wrong for him to initiate a project that he would not
implement, saying that while it was morally and legally correct for him to effect the minimum wage.


He recalled that former Governor Lam Adesina sealed a N1.8bn contract for an International Market
and Water Projects in the dying days of his administration, while Senator Rashidi Ladoja increased
workers’ salaries and allowances a few days before his departure.


“The workers in Oyo State will enjoy minimum wage of N18,000 from May 1, 2011 and it is their right to reject the offer,” he said.



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