Barely a week after Ekwutosblog reported that the management of the Ambrose Alli University, AAU, Ekpoma, lamented over the continuous payment of a monthly minimum wage of N18,000 to the institution’s workers, the Edo State Government has approved a N70,000 minimum wage package for the staff.
Ekwutosblog reports that the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the University, Chief Dan Orbih, disclosed this after the Council’s 235th Regular Meeting held between April 3 and April 4, 2025.
A statement by Mike Ade Aladenika, Principal Assistant Registrar and Head of Information and Public Relations of the institution, dated April 10, 2025, and made available to newsmen in Benin City, said the leadership and members of various functional unions at the university commended the Governing Council for the welfare package.
Aladenika said the unions noted that the approval of the N70,000 monthly minimum wage was long overdue.
Ekwutosblog had on March 28, 2025 reported that the management of the state-owned university lamented that staff of the institution are still receiving N18,000 minimum wage as against the N70,000 approved for workers in the Edo State public service by the immediate past government of Godwin Obaseki.
The Principal Assistant Registrar/Head of Information and Public Relations of the institution, Mike Ade Aladenika, who had decried the development in a chat with newsmen in Benin City, noted that all agitations to ensure that the workers benefit from the N70,000 minimum wage approved by the government were not successful.
“I will make bold to tell you that workers in AAU as of today are still on N18,000 minimum wage while other civil servants are on N70,000. All agitations with the past government were to no avail,” he said.
The unions’ leaders, however, unanimously expressed appreciation for the Council’s approval of the minimum wage to be at par with colleagues in the state’s public service.
“Under the previous administration, our efforts to ensure the implementation of the minimum wage were unsuccessful, and union leaders faced victimization for advocating better worker welfare.
“But today, the unions did not pressurize the current Governing Council before the approval. This highlighted the Council’s proactive approach to addressing staff concerns,” he added.
The university image maker said the Governing Council had assured staff and students of “well-thought-out policies” to reshape the institution’s fortune for the better.
He said that the chairman of the Governing Council, Dan Orbih while speaking after the Council’s 235th Regular Meeting, added that the Council approved the N70,000 new minimum wage as recommended by the National Universities Commission.
He said the new minimum wage takes immediate effect.
“This move comes after staff members faced challenges under the previous administration, including non-implementation of the approved minimum wage and other welfare benefits”, he stated.
He, however, urged the staff to rededicate themselves to their duties, promising further benefits for dedicated employees.
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