Governor Abiodun
Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has given kudos to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his untiring efforts to steer the ship of the state through raging harsh economic turbulence.
Speaking during a Press Conference at the Olusegun Osoba Press Centre, Governor’s Office Oke-Mosan Abeokuta during the week, Governor Abiodun disclosed that President Tinubu’s “dedication to steering the ship through turbulent times has not gone unnoticed’’,
“In a special way, we extend our appreciation to the President and Commander-In-Chief of Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his continuous efforts in navigating the complexities of our nation’s economic landscape”, he said.
Governor Abiodun who announced a princely sum of N5bn as an intervention fund to cushion the effects of the rising cost of living in Ogun State said his administration would not be insensitive to the challenges being faced by the citizens.
He appreciated the people for their perseverance, patience and understanding in this harsh economic climate but insisted that “the present economic situation is just a transient phase that will soon pass”.
“Whatever we experience now are just necessary sacrifices that we have to make towards ensuring a greater tomorrow”, he noted.
Governor Abiodun said the intervention fund would cover education, health, worker’s deduction and food palliative which include, rice and other food items for about 300,000 households across the State.
He promised that government would ensure health insurance cover for over 70,000 beneficiaries including pregnant women, children, the elderly, market women and other members of the informal sector, while pregnant women under ‘Ibidero’ scheme would enjoy free pre-natal care, an additional N5,000 per birth and free post-natal care in State Hospitals and Primary Healthcare Centres across the state.
“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 as we 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 in the education sector by providing a minimum of five exercise books for all 850,000 students in our public primary and secondary schools.
“We are 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; providing for all 27,600 indigent students in tertiary institutions nationwide with an education grant of N50,000 each.
“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 continued to pay N10,000 transport allowance to all civil servants for the last eight months.
“This brings our total immediate interventions as a responsible state government to about N5bn across all sectors of the state economy”, he stated.
