By Gloria Afajagbe
The Edo State government has promised to ameliorate the sufferings and challenges faced by residents of the state, in the wake of fuel subsidy removal by the federal government.
Governor, Godwin Obaseki, in a press statement said that the government has taken steps to increase the minimum wage paid to workers in the state from the approved N30,000 to N40,000.
“The Edo State Government shares the pains of our people and wants to assure everyone that we are standing with them in these very challenging times.
“We want to reassure our people that we will do all within our powers as a subnational government to reduce the pains and ameliorate the sufferings our people are currently facing in the wake of the current realities.
“As a proactive government, we have since taken the step to increase the minimum wage paid to workers in Edo State from the approved N30, 000 to N40, 000, the highest in the country today.
“We want to assure you that we will continue to pay this amount, while we hope to increase it even further, if more allocation accrues to our State from the Federal Government in view of the expected savings occasioned by the removal of the fuel subsidy”.
Governor Obaseki noted that, the fuel subsidy removal has caused hardship, high cost of transportation, and high standard of living for workers in the state.
He assured that, the Edo State Government has reduced the number of work days that civil and public servants will commute to their work places from five days a week to three days a week.
“Therefore, the Edo State Government is hereby reducing the number of work days that civil and public servants will have to commute to their work places from five days a week to three days a week.
“Similarly, for teachers and parents, their commuting to school will be reduced as government is working on deepening the EdoBEST@Home initiative to create more virtual classes, thereby reducing the cost of commuting on parents, teachers and pupils. The Edo SUBEB will provide details on this initiative in the coming days.
“To lower the rising cost of energy on our people, we will continue to work with the electricity companies in the State to improve power supply to homes and businesses.
“Similarly, fibre optic connections are being made available to help our people work remotely, thereby reducing their cost of transportation.
The governor however, urged residents of the state to remain calm and carry out their daily activities lawfully, while the government intensifies efforts to alleviate the burden off the people.
