Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has announced palliatives totalling five billions naira to residents of the State, for the purpose of cushioning the economic challenges ravaging the country.
Abiodun, made this known at a world press conference held in Abeokuta, the State capital on Wednesday, which coincides with the day set aside to celebrate love, globally known as Valentine Day.
He assured the people of the State that the current economic situation is just a transient phase that will soon pass, adding that whatever being experienced now is necessary towards ensuring a greater tomorrow.
The Governor identified efforts of the Federal Government in its commitment towards creating a brighter future for all Nigerians and several bold steps taken to change the old order and sustainable economic growth.
He said: ” As our Administration acknowledges the concerns raised by many of our citizens regarding the rising food prices and shortages, coupled with the depreciation of the Naira, we identify with you and are taking proactive measures to alleviate the impact of these challenges to guarantee the welfare, well-being and wellness of our citizens in this difficult time.
“In this direction and through targeted interventions, we aim to address these challenges by implementing a series of phased initiatives aimed at alleviating these burdens on all our citizens.
“The State has taken the following steps:
a. Education Sector:
i. Providing a minimum of 5 exercise books for all 850,000 students in our public primary and secondary schools.
ii. Providing a one-time N10,000 education support grant for at least 100,000 pupils in our public primary and secondary schools in the state.
iii. Providing all 27,600 indigent students in tertiary institutions nationwide with an education grant of N50,000 each.
b. Health Sector:
i. We will be providing insurance health cover for over 70,000 beneficiaries to include pregnant women, children, the elderly, market women and other members of the informal sector.
ii. More specifically, for pregnant women, under our Ibidero Scheme, we would be providing free pre-natal care, an additional N5,000 per birth and free post-natal care in our State Hospitals and Primary Health Care Centers across the State.
c. Food Palliatives:
i. Provision of food palliatives to include rice and other food items for about 300,000 households across the State.
d. Civil Servants:
i. The State Government will commence to offset the backlog of inherited deductions. To this end, we are immediately committing N500M monthly payment towards outstanding deductions. It is noteworthy that we have continues to pay N10,000 transport allowance to all civil servants for the last 8 moths.
“This brings our total immediate interventions as a responsible State Government to about N5Bn across all sectors of the State economy, our primary responsibility as a Government is to provide security of lives and properties to all residents in the State.
” I have also met with the law enforcement agencies in our State and let me be clear, I will not allow anyone to test our will. Anyone who wants to test our will, will do so at their own peril. While the road ahead may be challenging, your patience, understanding and cooperation are crucial as we navigate these challenging times together.
“Together, we will work towards building a society that leaves no one behind which is also the essence of the successful implementation of our “.
