The N70,000 minimum wage announced by Edo State Government on April 29 has been described as a Greek gift hurriedly put together because of the governorship election coming up on September 21, 2024.

A Benin based organisation, the Edo N’Okpa Movement, in a statement, by Emovon Osaretin, its national convener, said that the N70,000 minimum wage was vote-buying antics ahead of governorship election.

“In this case, the governor hurriedly rushed to press to announce the minimum wage of N70,000 because he got wind of the review of civil servants’ salaries by 25 per cent and 35 per cent by the Federal Government,” it said and questioned the N70,000 minimum wage “when the Governor Obaseki’s administration has not been able to pay the N40,000 minimum wage effectively with many workers being owed up to six months in arrears.

“Maybe he is setting booby traps for the next governor since he knows very well that his anointed governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Asue Ighodalo, cannot win the election in Edo state.”

The group also drew the attention of Governor Obaseki to the Benin-Ugo-Abraka road, leading from Sakponba road to Abraka, which it said has been ongoing since 2016.

“It is public knowledge that the governor usually deploys caterpillars and bulldozers to this Benin-Ugo-Abraka road and many more across the state every time there is election, yet not up to 10% of the work has been completed since 2016.

“The governor has again brought another set of equipment to the same road, and they will be retrieved after the election,” the group claimed.

While advising Edo workers not to sell their votes ahead of the election, the Edo N’Okpa Movement called on the youths to be circumspect as politicians are likely going to rely on them to perpetuate acts of violence during the poll.