*Minimum wage: We planned for N70,000 wage three years ago – Obaseki*

_*… to set up transition c’ttee for next administration*_

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said that the State Government made plans for a N70,000 minimum wage three years ago when the telltale signs began to show that the economy was going in the wrong direction.

The governor disclosed this when the Editorial Board of Tell Magazine presented him with the Award for Exceptional Courage in Leadership, in Government House, Benin City, the State’s capital.

He said that the state made the plans for the increase in minimum wage when he started raising the alarm on the excessive borrowings by the Federal Government to meet its statutory obligations.

According to him, “We are able to pay the N70,000 minimum wage because we planned ahead in the last three years because we knew a day like this would come.

“Thank God that we have been vindicated today, as our sincerity has helped us prevail over every situation. We see prospects for a better economy and transparent government in Edo State because of the institutional reforms we have introduced to better manage the State.”

He continued: “We have always prevailed because the majority of Edo people understand, appreciate and endorse what our government has done. This has been the reason for the courage with which we have tackled any problem we faced along the way.”

Noting that the state was on a steady growth trajectory, he said: “For the next few months that are left for our administration, we will finish strong. We will finish all that we have started. This week, I will set up my transition team that will aggregate and document for the next administration all our achievements, projects and undertakings for our administration.”