Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has warned that the federal government may not be able to pay workers’ salaries beyond June 2023 without either printing more money or removing petrol subsidy. Speaking at the Workers’ Day celebration in Benin, Obaseki stated that either of these options would bring more hardship and pain to Nigerians, particularly workers.

He called on workers to be proactive in discussions on subsidy removal, insisting that the benefits and pains of any reforms must be mutually shared by all Nigerians, not just the downtrodden.

Obaseki had previously increased the minimum wage in Edo State to N40,000 in 2022 and promised to match the federal government's payment when it pays the new minimum wage. Nigeria reportedly spent N2.04 trillion to offset subsidy payments in seven months and plans to spend about N6 trillion on subsidy in 2023.