15th February, 2024
The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun has on Wednesday announced N5bn intervention plans for residents of the state to ameliorate the harsh effects of the current economic downturn in the country.
Abiodun said that the intervention plans came because his administration was not unware of the hard times the citizens of the country had been going through.
According to him, the intervention plans would cover education, health, distribution of food and deliberate welfare packages for workers.
Abiodun said, “Even the IMF and World Bank have commended these initiatives. It is this sincerity of purpose that is the main ingredient of the continued success of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“The Federal Government is not only steadfast in its commitment towards creating a brighter future for all citizens, but is also trying hard to foster a society where prosperity and well-being of the entire citizens prevail.”
The Governor said at least 100,000 indigent primary and secondary school students would collect N10,000 educational grants, 27, 600 tertiary institutions students will collect N50,000 grants while over 850,000 pupils across the primary and secondary schools in the State will be given five exercise books each.
He revealed that more than 70,000 beneficiaries including women, children and the elderly will benefit from the health insurance . He also said while state plans that 300,000 households would get f food stuff like rice and garri for free.
Abiodun said N500m would paid monthly to settle the backlog of deductions owed workers in the state .
He explained that “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: education sector: providing a minimum of five exercise books for all 850,000 students in our public primary and secondary schools. 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 all 27,600 indigent students in tertiary institutions nationwide with an education grant of N50,000 each.Health Sector: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.
“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.
“Food palliatives: Provision of food palliatives to include rice and other food items for about 300,000 households across the State. Civil Servants: 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 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”