Oyo Pays N18bn Salaries Monthly

Oyo State commissioner for Information and Orientation, Prince Dotun Oyelade, has disclosed that the state government pays N18 billion in salaries monthly.

He described the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the state as one of the most forward-looking and mature labour unions in recent history.

Oyelade who revealed this when he led the management of the Ministry to the NLC Secretariat in Ibadan in solidarity with workers to mark the 2027 Workers’ Day celebrations, said that as a young reporter he had the privilege of covering the landmark amalgamation of the NLC held at the Parliament Building in Ibadan in 1978 where Comrade Hassan Sunmonu was elected as its president.

“In the past 48 years, I have interacted with various NLC leadership in the state, and I can boldly say that in terms of building a harmonious relationship between government and workers, particularly from 1999 till date, none has surpassed the current Labour Unions in Oyo State,” he stated.

The Commissioner noted that in 2019, during his inaugural Gubernatorial address, Governor Seyi Makinde pledged to ensure the prompt payment of workers’ salaries on or before the 25th of every month.

According to him, the promise was met with scepticism by many.

“However, the Nigeria Labour Congress, Oyo State Council, not only believed in that promise but supported it fully. As we can see, 84 months after that audacious commitment, Governor Seyi Makinde has not reneged on the promise.

“Instead, he introduced the 13th-month salary and has increased workers’ salaries three times, even as the workforce expanded significantly due to an unprecedented recruitment policy, he said.

Oyelade revealed that with over 130,000 government workers, the Makinde administration now has the largest workforce not only in the south-west but also in the South-East and South-South regions.

He added that over ₦18 billion is paid monthly as salaries to the government’s workers, representing an increase of over 800 per cent Compared to the 2019 baseline.

He also stated that the administration’s internally generated revenue (IGR) of over ₦103 billion per month was justified by extensive infrastructure development and strategic interventions aimed at improving citizens’ welfare.

The Commissioner congratulated the Oyo State NLC on Workers’ Day and commended the Union for its sustained support for the Makinde administration.

In his remarks, the chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Oyo State Council, Comrade Kayode Martins, noted that the state government under Makinde had taken deliberate steps to restore dignity to retirees through structured gratuity payments and the clearance of longstanding debts.