Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has approved an upward review of the monthly emoluments of employees of the state’s Youth Employment Scheme, with the least now to get N18,000 monthly and the highest to be paid N30,000 monthly.
The governor announced this on Wednesday in Benin at a session with members of the executive committee of the scheme.
The state government’s gesture is coming even as some states are yet to implement the minimum wage for its core civil servants.
Represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Simon Imuekemhe, the governor said the upward review of the emoluments of the YES employees will cost the state government an additional N30 million monthly.
Under the new arrangement, degree holders in the YES, who were receiving N18,000 monthly are now to earn N30,000 monthly; NCE and OND holders are to receive N20,000 monthly as against N12,000 monthly while the least category of the YES programme who were receiving N10,000 monthly will now be paid N18,000 monthly.
Oshiomhole emphasised that the YES, which is solely funded by the state government, has absolved over 7,000 youths and it is designed to take youths off the streets and make them useful to themselves and the larger society.
He urged the youths to remain focussed and committed to their jobs even as he said the next elections will be based on what a candidate has done for the people in the past and not on empty rhetoric.
President, Executive Committee of the Edo YES, Mr. Victor idonijie, expressed gratitude to the state government for absorbing them into the scheme and for the upward review of their emolument.
He pledged their full support for the comrade governor in his re-election bid.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of the State Rapid Response Agency, Mr. Mujaidu Dako, said the upward review of the emolument was part of the governor’s commitment to positively change the lives of people in the state.
Edo State YES was set up in 2009 and the employees have the responsibility to complement the efforts of other agencies of government on traffic control management, environmental sanitation, among others.