Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun
Unbearable living condition: Ogun announces palliatives – N10k to civil servants for 3mths, hazard allowances …
Yinka ADETUNJI
Ogun state government has announced immediate palliative measures to cushion the effects of subsidy removal on its citizens.
The welfare packages unveiled by the state governor Prince Dapo Abiodun in his Twitter handle @dabiodunMFR Monday ranged from N10, 000 cash palliative to civil servants and pensioners for three months, hazard allowances for health workers, peculiar allowances to civil servants, payment of March and April 2023 leave bonuses, food distribution to the vulnerable citizens, fertilizer subsidy to farmers and so on.
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“In line with the current realities in the country and commitment of our administration to ameliorate the effects of removal of fuel subsidy on the well-being of the good people of Ogun State, we have approved the following measures for immediate implementation.”
The measures according to the governor are “Cash palliative of N10,000 for each public servant including pensioners to enable workers to cope with the economic shocks occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy for 3 months in the first instance with effect from July 2023; approval of hazard allowance for all health and medical personnel in the State; approval of peculiar allowance for public servants in the State; immediate release of Letters of Promotion in respect of 2021 and 2022; payment of March and April 2023 leave bonuses for public servants in the State; and immediate cash-backing for the quarterly payment of gratuities to pensioners.”
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Others include, “All our Ministries, Departments and Agencies are to work out modalities of ensuring that 20% of their staff strengths are off-duty daily to ease the effect of the recent increase in fuel price among public servants; commencement of food palliatives to the vulnerable (rice, garri, beans, maize etc); furthermore, Gateway Trading Company has been directed to ensure the establishment of distribution outlets across the state, while items must be sold at the rate obtainable before the fuel price increase; also, fertilizers and other farm inputs are to be supplied to farmers at subsidized and controlled prices; other measures include the commencement of conversion of State Mass Transit buses to CNG including staff buses and current public transportation buses in circulation to reduce the cost of transportation by charging rates comparable to what was obtained before deregulation; and immediate Road Infrastructure Intervention, with all the local governments working with Community Development Associations and Community Leaders to submit three roads that require immediate intervention as part of the palliative programmes and support for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises through Special Schemes to boost production capacity and employment generation.”
insightonline.com recalls that the unilateral removal of subsidy by President Bola Tinubu during his inauguration on May 29 has forced the price of premium motor spirit (pms) otherwise known as petrol to between N550 and N700 across the country, provoking untold hardships.
