Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Thursday reeled out measures to ease pressure faced by residents of the state in the face of hardship following the rising cost of living.
The measures come in the wake of groanings across the country about the sharp rise in the cost of living resulting from the removal of subsidies on gasoline and the devaluation of the naira after the abolition of multiple official foreign exchange rates.
Youths in Ibadan, Oyo State, days ago held a protest over the cost of living, while organized labor has also slated a two-day protest for next week across the country over the matter.
Unfolding measures to reduce pressure on residents in Lagos, Sanwo-Olu urged the people to be resilient in weathering the storms, assuring them that glorious days lay ahead.
He said that the state, on its part, had decided to reduce the number of days in which its workers would come to work to ease pressure on the staff.
The governor said that public servants would be expected to be at the office three times a week, while the state government would also feed some 1000 to 1500 residents daily.
“In a week’s time, civil servants from level one to level 14 will only be required to come to the office three times a week.
“This doesn’t mean that there won’t be personnel to provide services for the public. It will be rotational.
“Also, we will go to the local governments for our soup bowls initiative; we have identified caterers to partner with.
“We will feed 1000 to 1500 people in each local government per day, in the first instance, for 30 to 60 days,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu said that students needed to be in school every day, so the government would work out a transport allowance for teachers to be able to be there.
He said that in the area of public
transportation, from this weekend, there would be a 25 percent reduction on the bus rapid transit, rail, and other state public transport systems.
On health, Sanwo-Olu said pregnant women in Lagos State will enjoy free delivery all over the 31 state general hospitals.
“Both natural deliveries and Caesarian sections are now free in all state general hospitals,” he said.
The governor said the six health districts in the state would also carry out health missions twice a week to provide health checks for residents.
”There will be doctors and nurses on the ground; this takes effect next week,” he said.
He said he had also cleared arrears of pensions of retirees, with the exception of
the 2023 set, which would be sorted soon.
“We are deliberate about bringing succor to our people,” he said.
In the area of agriculture, the Lagos State government reiterated its commitment to food security in the state.
“As we speak, we’re soon going to receive 100 trailers of rice for food purchase and redistribution. What this means is that there’s a limit to what an individual can buy. This will checkmate the possibility of hoarding.
“We intend to open food hubs like we did at Mushin, and we plan on replicating this in other local government areas.
“We intend to focus on partnerships with other states where we have land to ensure food security in the state,” he said.
He said that Sunday markets would be opened in 42 markets to buy food items at a 25 percent reduced cost.
Sanwo-Olu said that the state would cap what a person could buy at not more than N25,000 worth.
“On education, he said all government schools should desist from demanding tax clearance from parents and guardians for enrollment of their children to reduce out-of-school children.
Gov. Sanwo-Olu said the state was insisting that landlords should not collect more than one year’s rent, urging residents to report defaulting people to the government.
He said there must also be a stop to the dollarization of the economy to make things better.
Sanwo-Olu said the governments of
Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo were working together to light up the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
He said his journey since the assumption of office had not been without challenges.
Sanwo-Olu said that the lowest moments of his administration were the global pandemic COVID-19, the EndSars movement, and the death of Sylvester Oromoni.
”Our resilience paved the way, and we got emboldened to move past the challenges, and since then, we haven’t looked back. We keep building on all verticals,” the governor said.
He called on the private sector to partner with the government to make life better. (NAN)
