State governors are beginning to ‘spend the money’ and roll out more palliatives for the people as pressure mounts on them over the current economic crisis.
Some agencies of the federal government are also doubling their efforts to check spiraling costs of food items and other essentials, according to reports from across the country yesterday.
The latest of the pressure came yesterday from the Nigeria Labour Congress which declared 27th and 28th of February as protest days over the current state of the economy and insecurity in the country.
President Bola Tinubu, during his meeting with the governors in Abuja on Thursday, had charged them to put more money such as salary arrears, pension and gratuities in the pockets of the people since the states now receive more financial allocations from the federation account.
“Spend the money; don’t spend the people,” he said.
Many other Nigerians have also been challenging the governors on what they have been doing with the huge allocations accruing to the states following the stoppage of fuel subsidy last year.
Less than 24 hours after the President’s charge, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday presented N3.1 billion to 1,013 retired civil servants in the state.
He said the payment of N3.1 billion to retirees alongside their monthly contributions which have already been remitted into their respective Retirement Savings Accounts with the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) was a testament to the commitment of his administration to the welfare and well-being of retirees.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who spoke during the 103rd Batch Retirement Bond Certificate Presentation ceremony in Ikeja, acknowledged the backlog in the payment of Accrued Rights, but said his focus was to systematically eliminate the backlog.
“I am pleased to announce that we have made substantial progress in this regard and I am confident that before the end of my tenure, our aspiration for a ‘Pay As You Go’ model will be realised,” he said.
Makinde extends wage award by six months
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State announced the extension of payment of wage award to civil servants and pensioners in the state by another six months.
The governor had, last October, approved payment of N25,000 and N15,000 wage award for workers and pensioners respectively for six months.
This would have terminated next month.
But commissioning the dualised 12km Challenge-Odo Ona Elewe- Elebu Apata Road in Ibadan yesterday, Makinde said the wage award would run for another six months –April to September, 2024.
He pledged to keep working for the people rather than join words with people playing politics with the current economic situation in the country or attempting to incite the people against state governors over the increase in allocation to states.
He said: “We all know the reality of the times no matter how anyone tries to paint it. In the weeks and months to come, our dear party will propose action plans that we believe will work for our nation when adopted.
“In doing this, we will again demonstrate that we care more about the progress of our people than we do about politics.”
The governor noted that the Enugu rice brand would grow bigger than what it was known for, stressing that the state would soon be known as a rice producing state.
He noted that Enugu was now an oil producing state and also doing well in the agricultural sector, saying, “This will help to reduce hunger to zero by 2031.”
Abia begins distribution of food to LGAs
The Abia State Government says it has started distributing palliatives across the 17 local government areas of the state as part of its measures to address the food crisis.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Alex Otti, Mr. Kazie Uko, told The Nation that apart from the distribution of rice and other palliatives to residents of the state, government is also rehabilitating rural roads to enable farmers have access to their farms and evacuate their farm produce to the markets.
Uko said that apart from the distribution of the palliatives, government strives to “ensure that salaries of workers are not held back in any way.”
Continuing, he said: “The state has equally ensured that the medical bills of the vulnerable poor were taken up by the state government.
“Just recently, an NGO concluded a medical mission and a couple of persons that they could not fund their surgeries have been taken up by the state government after the information gets to the government.”
Adeleke summons food security meeting to secure Osun farmlands
Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has convened a food security meeting for Osogbo on Monday to brainstorm on how to further secure farmlands in the state.
The meeting, according to the governor, will be attended by representatives of the Hunters association and the Amotekun commanders alongside the civil defense and police services.
“The goal is to strengthen farm security,” Adeleke told Agriculture Minister Abubakar Kyari during a courtesy visit in Abuja.
He said his administration was also working on Small Farmers’ Equipment Lending service to ease the access of small scale farmers to tractors and other needed machineries.
He said: “To expand food production, we are also pushing to implement a City to Farm programme. This is designed to encourage young small scale farmers. This will expand production and also engage our youth. “
On security, Adeleke said his administration would set a State Security Trust Fund to mobilise financing for security agencies.
It is expected to be private sector driven.
We’re tackling food shortage crisis with improved security in Gombe —Yahaya
Gombe State Governor Inuwa Yahaya said his state was working with the federal government to shield its food production efforts by ensuring security for farmers to return to their farms.
Emerging from a meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima in Abuja yesterday, Yahaya said although the food shortage crisis is global, Nigeria’s experience has been made more serious because of insecurity especially in the Northwest and Northeast.
He said his administration, though working with the federal government on surmounting the crisis, has also mapped out short, medium and long-term responses to the food shortage crisis.
His words: “Food crisis is not only prevalent in Nigeria, it is obtained all over the world because of the challenges confronting the world, but our own has its own peculiarities because of the insecurity that has bedeviled the North, especially Northwest and Northeast.
“That notwithstanding, we are making serious efforts to ensure that we restore normalcy by providing security to enable the people go back to their farms. So we have our own strategies for both the short medium and long term. Each State has its own but we have keyed into that of the federal government in order to ensure that very soon we overcome the challenges.”
Kaduna pays N3.2b pension/gratuities; votes N1b for fertilizer
For the Kaduna State Government, its focus is prompt payment of workers’ salaries, pension and gratuity, award of contracts to local contractors and subsidising agriculture.
This year, over N1 billion has been earmarked to subsidise fertilizer for farmers while over N3.2 billion was recently released for payment of pension and gratuity so that beneficiaries could have money to attend to their needs.
Governor Uba Sani’s Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Lawal Shehu, said: “In the area of business, the state government through the Ministry of Business Innovation and Development is supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with grants.”
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He said that these measures taken by the state government would go a long way in cushioning the effects of economic and food crises on the citizens.
Kwara gifts 10,000 bags of rice to workers
The Kwara State Government has released 10,000 bags of 10 kilogrammes of rice for distribution to workers across the state
The palliative followed an engagement Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq had with the leadership of the organised labour unions and other stakeholders earlier in the week.
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman in the state, Comrade Saheed Olayinka, said the palliative “will go a long way. It is a show of support and empathy and we appreciate it.
“We have started sharing the rice palliative since yesterday, and people were so glad to receive it. It has reduced the tension and burden on us as leaders. They complained to us, and we forwarded the complaints to the government.
“Without wasting time, the government has come to our aid. We are so glad with what is going on.
“On the ongoing negotiation, the happiest part of it is that His Excellency has maintained the committee set up by him to look into the requests of Kwara State workers.
“We forwarded about 21 demands. Immediately, 11 have been addressed. The remaining 10 are still under consideration, while the committee continues to talk to the labour leaders. We hope that the remaining 10 will equally see the light of the day soon.”
Delta releases modalities for sharing palliatives
Secretary to the State Government and Chairman, State Subsidy Palliative Committee, Dr Kingsley Emu, told reporters in Asaba that the state 40 per cent would go to the wards and 10 percent reserved to shore up urban wards.
Another 25 per cent would be distributed to heavily impacted people including Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) and widows, 20 per cent is for poor and vulnerable households and five per cent left for contingency for the LGAs.
According to the SSG, each local government would receive 696 bags of rice of 50 kg while maize would also be distributed to poultry farmers across the state.
Edo’s focus is transport
Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki decided to prioritize transportation following the removal of fuel subsidy.
The free transport scheme he introduced last September for an initial two-month period to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal was first extended to February 2024 and later to April 2024.
The scheme covers all intra and inter-city routes operated by the state-owned Edo City Transport Services (ECTS), including Auchi – Igarra – Ibillo–Ososo; Uzebba–Ikhin – Otuo; Abudu-Ubiaja, Abudu-Urhonigbe and Ewohimi to Ewatto.
The intra-city routes are Ramat–Kingsquare; New Benin–Kingsquare; Kingsquare – Ekenwan Road; Kingsquare–Airport Road; Kingsquare–Sapele Road and Kingsquare – Adesuwa, Kingsquare–Ogida; New Benin – Upper Mission; Kingsquare–Ugbowo; Kingsquare–Agbor Road; Kingsquare–Upper Sokponba; New Benin – Ugbowo and New Benin–Aduwawa.
Gov Zulum declares one day prayer session
Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum yesterday urged residents of the state to observe Monday as a day of fasting and offering special prayers for divine intervention over the current food crisis.
Zulum in a broadcast said he was “deeply troubled by the recent hardships faced by our citizens, particularly the high cost of food items.”
He said: “I understand the burden that this places on families and individuals, and I want to assure you that we are taking decisive steps to alleviate this issue.
“Our government is focusing on reviving agriculture in the state, intending to increase food production and reduce our reliance on food palliative.
“We are investing in modern farming techniques, providing support to local farmers and creating incentives for agricultural innovation. By doing so, we hope to not only lower the cost of food items but also to create sustainable livelihoods for our people.”
He said that his administration was engaged with stakeholders particularly those in the business of essential commodities that include all forms of grains and building materials and had taken far-reaching decisions to mitigate the rising cost of the essential goods.
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“In addition to our efforts in agriculture, we are also working on increasing the distribution of palliatives especially for residents in Maiduguri Metropolitan and Jere,” he said.
Aiyedatiwa flags-off rural roads construction
Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa yesterday flagged off the construction of a 15.5km road linking Oda Cocoa Board through Camp 2 to Langbodo in Akure South Local Government Area in what he said was part of government’s effort to address the current food crisis.
Aiyedatiwa said the proposed establishment of nine Agro-Logistics Centres across the state would help to market farm produce.
The Ondo Governor urged the benefitting community leaders to take ownership of the projects by closely supervising the project to ensure that the quality of roads was not compromised under any guise.
The Ebonyi State Government, according to Agriculture Commissioner Nkechi Iyioku has distributed 13,000 bags of fertilizers to farmers across the state who had complained about the rising cost of farm inputs.
Iyioku said more aids would be coming the way of the farmers this year as government is determined to have a bumper harvest.
Information Commissioner Jude Okpor said government has cleared the backlog of gratuities and pension of workers it inherited from past administrations while Governor Francis Nwifuru recently commissioned an audit of local government retirees to facilitate payment of their entitlements.
Mrs Ann Aligwe, Commissioner for Human Capital Development said the state has launched a N3bn empowerment scheme for 1500 artisans and hawkers.
“The first tranche of N1bn which saw 500 artisans and hawkers getting N2m each, totalling N1bn, was done late last year. Subsequent tranches will be carried out soon”, she said.
Niger LGs set up committees on price control
Following a recent executive order by Niger State Governor Mohammed Bago to stop large scale traders from going into the villages or local markets to mop up food items, some local government chairmen in the state have set up committees on price control for foodstuff. These local government areas include Mokwa and Agaie.
The Niger State House of Assembly on its part has proposed a bill for a Price Control Board to regulate the price of essential commodities. The bill has scaled first reading at the Niger House of Assembly.
The Board is expected to study market situation in the state with a view to restructuring the supply and demand mechanism.
The Governor had warned that anyone found mopping up food items in the markets or villages would have their goods confiscated by security agencies and the foodstuff distributed to the public.
Adamawa working on additional palliatives
The Adamawa State Government may introduce more palliatives to cushion the effects of the economic crisis, according to Governor Ahmadu Fintiri’s Chief Press Secretary, Humwashi Wonosikou.
Already in place are the N10,000 wage award for civil servants and pensioners also on the payroll of the state government on top of their salary and the mass transit buses which convey passengers at subsidized fares last year are also still plying the routes marked out for them, charging fares that are in many instances just about one-third of what public means of transportation cost.
Benue coming with own palliatives
Benue State Governor Hyacinth Alia is also expected to roll out his government’s palliatives for the people soon, his Chief Press Secretary Kulas Tersoo told The Nation.
The government had earlier purchased 100 vehicles for the state owned transport company to beat down transport fares.
Small business owners, market women and youths were given N50,000 each to improve their business.
Rice, maize and corn flour were distributed to the people across the 23 local government areas while the Government paid WAEC fees to all final year students in government-owned schools across the state.
NLC to protest hardship, insecurity Feb 27, 28
The NLC said yesterday in Abuja that it would embark on a two -day national protest on 27th and 28th of February to show its outrage over the current hardship and insecurity across the country.
The NLC warned that if its demands were not met after the nationwide protests, it would issue a seven-day notice that would expire on March 2, 2024 to the Federal Government after which an indefinite nationwide strike would commence.
The NLC and Trade Union Congress (TUC) had earlier given the federal government a 14-day ultimatum to implement the 16-point agreement the two sides reached last year.
That ultimatum would end on February 22.
President of NLC, Joe Ajaero, told reporters after a meeting of the National Executive Council yesterday that organised labour was tired of “empty talks by the federal Government.”
He directed its affiliates and civil society allies to begin mobilisation for the nationwide protest.
Ajaero said: “On Monday, the 29th day of May 2023, the President of the Federal Republic announced during his inaugural speech the withdrawal of Subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in Nigeria. Consequently, the price of the product, which is central to transportation and power in Nigeria, escalated across the nation, throwing the nation into turmoil and confusion as citizens were left stranded, thus increasing suffering, hardship and angst among the populace.
“Series of meetings were held with the federal government culminating in the signing of an Agreement which we now call the October 2 Agreement. This Agreement contained several safeguards which we had believed if implemented conscientiously would have gone a long way to ameliorate the suffering and hardship that the ill-conceived and ill-implemented policies of the government have foisted on the masses and workers.
“The NEC-in-session considered the unfortunate state of our nation; the huge suffering pervading the nation, the general crisis of living, the outrage expressed by the majority, and the increased attendant fears of the continued consequences of these Policies and the persistent refusal of the Government to implement the tenets of the October Agreement. It also took notice of the decision of the National Administrative Council (NAC) of the both Congresses of the NLC and TUC to demand that the Agreement be implemented.
“To this end, NEC unanimously noted its deep disappointment and condemned the actions of the federal government in refusing to implement the agreements and reached the following decisions:
“That it reaffirms the 14 days notice issued by the federal government within which to implement the Agreement and address the mounting crisis of survival in Nigeria.
“That the Notice expires on the midnight of Thursday, the 22nd of February, 2024. If on expiration Congress is not satisfied with the level of Government’s compliance with the conditions of the Notice, it will be at liberty to take action that will compel government to implement the agreement.
“If demands are not met after the nationwide protests, to issue a seven-day notice that will expire on the 2nd day of March, 2024 to the federal government after which an indefinite nationwide strike will ensue. “
The pressure on the state governments stems from the realization that their monthly allocation from the federal purse has increased astronomically since the removal of oil subsidy.
Below is a comparison of their average allocation before and after the subsidy removal:
STATES PRE SUBSIDY POST SUBSIDY
ABIA N4.573bn N6.409bn
ADAMAWA. N4.750bn N6.419bn
AKWA IBOM. N24.788bn. N24.277bn
ANAMBRA N4.747bn. N8.266bn
BAUCHI N.4.375bn N6.637bn
BAYELSA. N16.838bn. N19.697bn
BENUE. N5.213bn N7.414bn
BORNO. N5.532bn N8.232bn
CROSS RIVER. N4.540bn. N5.234bn
DELTA. N35.374bn N38.760bn
EBONYI. N3.829bn. N5.880bn
ENUGU. N3.469bn N6.742bn
EDO. N7.360bn N7.360bn
EKITI. N3.604bn. N5.234bn
GOMBE N3.674bn. N5.173bn
IMO. N4.548bn N6.674bn
JIGAWA. N6.097bn N7.948bn
KADUNA. N5.245bn. N7.30bn
KANO. N7.935bn. N10.690bn
KATSINA N5.244bn. N7.610bn
KEBBI. N4.809bn N6.900bn
KOGI. N4.215bn N6.404bn
KWARA. N3.912bn N5.266bn
LAGOS. N12.392bn N14.970bn
NASARAWA. N4.344bn N12.392bn
NIGER. N.4.470bn N6.746bn
OGUN. N3.018bn. N5.019bn
ONDO. N6.963bn. N8.590bn
OSUN. N3.739bn N5.084bn
OYO N.6.437bn. N8.485bn
PLATEAU N3.762bn. N5.697bn
RIVERS. N24.019bn N27.244bn
SOKOTO N4.405bn N6.629bn
TARABA. N4.235bn. N6.159bn
YOBE. N4.241bn. N6.257bn
ZAMFARA. N4.014bn. N5.928bn