Prince Dapo Abiodun, the governor of Ogun State, approved on Wednesday the continuation of the N10,000 transport allowance payment given to state employees in order to mitigate the impact of the Federal Government’s removal of the fuel subsidy for an additional six months.
The allowance should have expired in September since it was one of several measures the state government took in response to the deregulation policy in July.
Abiodun revealed that the extension would help the state workforce continue to deal with the consequences of the removal of subsidies during a meeting with Permanent Secretaries in the state.
In order to give the government time to develop suitable medium- and long-term intervention plans for every group of people in the state, he explained the allowance as a component of the temporary immediate-term interventions.
In addition to the N10,000, which also applies to pensioners, the state government authorized the following: emergency release of promotion letters for 2021 and 2022, hazard allowance for health and medical personnel, payment of leave bonuses to public employees in March and April of 2023, and immediate cash-backing for the quarterly gratuity payments to pensioners.
The governor recalled that Ogun was the first state to implement the Gas Mobility Program and E-Mobility, which included electric tricycles and motorcycles as well as buses equipped with compressed natural gas.
With the exception of a few instances in which fifth columnists mockingly criticized the government’s efforts, Prince Abiodun said that the palliatives being distributed throughout the state have garnered praise from people all across the nation.
The governor further stated that it is not feasible to provide palliatives to all five million residents of the state, arguing that they should not be used for those who are not in need.
The state helmsman mentioned how his administration intended to leave behind legacy projects when he left office.
He made a suggestion that a special committee would be formed soon to look into the rehabilitation of public schools, and he said that the committee would be paid for out of trust funds.
Abiodun stated that initiatives to enhance state mobility through the identification and rehabilitation of important state roads are underway.