The Adamawa State Government has announced a generous package of palliatives to help its workers and pensioners cope with the impact of the petrol subsidy removal.
The package includes a monthly allowance of N10,000 for each worker and pensioner, free or subsidised transportation, and affordable food and fertiliser.
The details of the package were revealed by Dr Edgar Amos Sunday, the chairman of the committee set up by the state government to determine the package.
He is also the Chief of Staff to Governor Ahmadu Fintiri. He made the announcement to newsmen at the Government House in Yola on Wednesday.
According to him, the state government will provide buses to transport workers between their houses and the state secretariat in Jimeta, where most of the ministries are located. Similar buses will also be available for members of the public who need to travel between local government areas at subsidised fares.
He added that Governor Fintiri has approved the full implementation of the national minimum wage for local government workers starting from August. This means that local government workers will receive N32,000 as their minimum wage, just like their counterparts in the state government.
Furthermore, he said that the state government will procure 70 trucks of maize and 20 trucks of rice for distribution to the people of the state at subsidised rates. He also said that 50 trucks of fertiliser will be purchased specifically for workers at a subsidised rate.
He explained that these measures were part of the recommendations submitted by the special committee constituted to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.
The state Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Dauda Aliyu, commended the state government for its palliative package. He said that organised labour will continue to protect the interests of workers under its umbrella.
The TUC has also called on the state government to ensure that the implementation of the package is transparent and efficient.
Newsflash Nigeria reports that while workers under the state government have been receiving the N32,000 minimum wage (to be N42,000 for the next six months because of the new palliative), workers on the payroll of the different local government councils had only been receiving what was due to them before the minimum wage regime.
