Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, has greenlit a series of meticulously crafted relief programs to alleviate the challenges faced by the state’s populace amidst the ongoing global economic downturn.
The initiatives encompass various sectors, beginning with the clearance of one-month salary arrears totaling over N2.7 billion for State and Local Government workers. This move signifies the government’s commitment to settling outstanding payments and ensuring financial stability for its workforce.
Furthermore, an increase of N600 million per month has been approved for the subvention of autonomous institutions, including the Judiciary and tertiary institutions. This boost aims to facilitate the implementation of wage awards for workers in these institutions.
In addressing pension arrears, the governor has sanctioned the payment of two months’ pension arrears totaling N1.5 billion for State and Local Government workers. Additionally, monthly gratuity payments have been augmented to N100 million for state pensioners and N200 million in total for local government pensioners.
To bolster food production, the state government has allocated N1 billion for agricultural initiatives, focusing on land preparation, tractorization subsidy schemes, and input supply programs to support small-scale farmers. Another N1.2 billion from the World Bank-financed Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project will be utilized to empower livestock farmers and enhance productivity in the sector.
Moreover, a N500 million loan program in collaboration with Access Bank will support medium and small-scale businesses, complemented by a N1 billion cooperative fund to provide low-interest working capital for cooperatives and members. These measures aim to revitalize the economy and support small businesses, crucial components of the State’s economic landscape.
In addition to financial support, the government continues its conditional cash transfer to low-income households and the CARES program focusing on livelihood support, technology assistance for small businesses, and agriculture support, with a budget of N3.5 billion.
Other initiatives include extending free bus services to students and workers in key towns, distributing food items across the State, ongoing infrastructure projects, enhanced healthcare services, and efforts to boost power supply.
Governor Oyebanji reassured the citizens of the state of his administration’s unwavering commitment to their welfare and urged cooperation with government efforts. These initiatives align with the shared prosperity agenda of the administration and the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
