New minimum wage: Ogun workers will soon smile — Abiodun

THE Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, on Wednesday, said workers in the State will soon smile as his administration is working towards implementing the new minimum wage.

The governor stated this during a meeting with the leadership of organised labour held at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan Abeokuta.

He noted that workers have been instrumental in the rapid economic growth the state is witnessing.

The governor promised the union leaders that Ogun State will not take second place in the implementation of the new minimum wage.

He said: “On the new minimum wage, all hands are on deck working assiduously, and I am sure that as always, we will not be number two in the implementation of the minimum wage.

“I have told my team that we should roll up our sleeves; we should work as hard as we can without putting undue pressure on our people. We should be creative, more efficient, block loopholes and increase our revenue so that we can afford to pay the new minimum wage comfortably, and by the grace of God, we will not be second in terms of implementation.”

He pleaded for continued partnership from organised labour, emphasising that their cooperation has led to economic prosperity, as the state budget has increased from less than N400 billion at the inception of the administration to the current N703 billion, with performance at 80 percent. He added that the state is looking at a trillion Naira budget for next year’s appropriation.

Governor Abiodun said he initiated the meeting as part of efforts to engage stakeholders involved in the movement of people to find solutions to the current situation caused by the fuel subsidy removal.

He said, “We have commenced the energy transition program by converting our mass transit buses to CNG and launching electric motorcycles and tricycles.

“Yesterday (Monday), we held a meeting with the transport unions. They demanded that we ramp up the availability of these alternative means of fuelling transportation in the state and widen the scope because of the success they have recorded.

“The Federal Government is making rice available for us to sell at very subsidised prices to everybody. The Federal Government is also providing us with 500 CNG kits that we will use to convert 509 commercial vehicles so that we can lower the cost of transportation,” Abiodun added.

The Federal Government, the governor continued, will send 20 CNG buses in the first instance to the state, while the state government will provide 100 CNG buses to transport unions in the state, saying that transportation costs are expected to be reduced by 50-80 percent as more people embrace electric motorcycles and CNG vehicles.

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