The Ogun Government has approved an extension of six months for the N10,000 transport allowance granted to the state’s civil servants, the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, said on Wednesday.
Speaking during a meeting in Abeokuta with the state’s Permanent Secretaries, Abiodun said the extension would allow the state workers to continue to cope with the effects of the subsidy removal.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the allowance was to help cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidies by the Federal Government.
The allowance, which was part of various interventions adopted by the state government in the wake of the deregulation policy in July, was to have ended in September.
The governor described the allowance as part of the temporary immediate-term interventions.
”It was to allow the government to come up with appropriate medium and long-term intervention plans for all categories of people in the state.
“Apart from the N10,000, which also covers pensioners, the state government also approved hazard allowance for health and medical personnel.
“Also, there has been an immediate release of letters of promotion in respect of 2021 and 2022, payment of March and April 2023 leave bonuses for public servants and immediate cash-backing for the quarterly payment of gratuities to pensioners,” he said.
Gov. Abiodun said the palliatives being distributed across the state have elicited applause across the country and beyond.
”It was only in a few instances that we have had fifth columnists mischievously criticising the government’s efforts.”
He then spoke of plans by his administration to leave behind legacy projects at the end of his tenure.
“A special committee on the rehabilitation of public schools will soon be set up, and the committee will be funded through a trust fund,” Gov. Abiodun said.
He added that efforts were in top gear to improve mobility in the state by identifying and rehabilitating critical roads across the state.