Okpebholo Increases Edo Minimum Wage to ₦75,000 in Sweeping, Inclusive Reform

By – Saintmoses Eromosele

In a quiet but consequential move on May Day, Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State raised the minimum wage from ₦70,000 to ₦75,000 — extending the increment across all civil servants in the state. The raise, affecting every cadre in the public service, contrasts sharply with the previous administration’s selective hike, which applied largely to junior workers.

The additional ₦5,000 per worker represents an estimated ₦250 million increase in the monthly wage bill — a fiscal stretch that signals both confidence and a shift in tone from symbolic gestures to institutional equity. Where his predecessor’s move was widely seen as populist and uneven, Okpebholo’s action reorients the state’s wage structure on principles of fairness and shared reward.

At a time when most Nigerian states still struggle with the federal minimum of ₦30,000, Edo’s new wage floor places it at the frontier of worker compensation nationwide. While the administration has yet to unveil a sweeping economic plan, this move suggests a willingness to lead with quiet reform rather than rhetoric.

In a political climate where announcements often overshadow delivery, Okpebholo’s May Day gesture offers a rare reversal: modest in style, sweeping in substance.

Saintmoses Eromosele (SME) writes from his Cassava farm in Ewu