Aiyedatiwa using N73,000 minimum wage to mask ‘colossal’ failure, says Ondo PDP

• Warns workers against political bait, Greek gift ahead of guber poll
• INEC, IPC train officials on effective communication strategies
• New Nigeria will start from Ondo, says SDP guber candidate

The Ondo State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, at the weekend, described the approval of the N73,000 minimum wage for workers in the state by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa as bait and Greek gift ahead of the forthcoming off-cycle November 16, 2024 governorship election in the state.

According to the opposition party, the gesture on the part of the governor was not genuine, hence, the ploy of disclosing his decision during his campaign, a move the PDP bared a semblance of political bait and deceit.

Aiyedatiwa had on Saturday, while flagging off his campaign in Ondo City, said that his commitment to the welfare of the people of the state made him approve N73,000 above the Federal Government’s N70,000 as the new minimum wage.

The party, in a statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity of the Agboola Ajayi Campaign Organisation, Ayo Fadaka, said that the timing of the N73,000 minimum wage was ill-conceived, particularly that it was a calculated attempt to mask his ‘non-performance in the last 10 months.

MEANWHILE, ahead of the Ondo State election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has conducted a two-day training workshop for senior members of staff of the commission on effective communication within the electoral space.

The training was facilitated by the International Press Centre (IPC) with the support of the European Union (EU) and DAI.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Oluwatoyin Babalola, emphasised the workshop’s critical goal in ensuring the success of the governorship election in Ondo State.

The REC, therefore, urged the members of staff to actively engage in the workshop to acquire the necessary skills for connecting with the diverse perspectives and emotions of various voter groups.

On his part, the Executive Director of the IPC, Lanre Arogundade, said that the training would strengthen the capacity of INEC officials to relay electoral information efficiently and to interact with the media transparently and professionally.

IN another development, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) governorship candidate in the forthcoming election in Ondo State, Bamidele Akingboye, has said that Nigerians will see the beginning of a new Nigeria from Ondo State if his party wins the governorship poll in the state.

Akingboye, during a media briefing with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, Ibadan, said he was determined to lead the state to the Promised Land.

He said that he would replicate the successes he recorded in the private sector in leading the state.