Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State has given his approval for the deployment of government buses to assist students and workers in public tertiary institutions within Ilorin and its surroundings.
This initiative is aimed at alleviating the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy. The bus palliative for students in the metropolis represents the second phase of measures implemented by the Kwara government.
The earlier measures included reducing workdays for civil servants to three days per week, while additional measures were being worked out for workers exempted from the policy.
According to a Government House statement signed by Rafiu Ajakaye, chief press Secretary to the governor on Sunday, “From Wednesday, June 14, some large buses will be deployed to transport students of public tertiary institutions within the metropolis, including those going to the Kwara State University (KWASU), the campus at Malete. Further details will be released by the coordinating Ministries, Agencies, and Departments (MDAs.)
“The state government will continue to offer immediate support for the Kwara public as Nigeria permanently transitions to the post-fuel subsidy regime and different steps are taken to bring more ease to the people while sustainably growing the economy.”
The state government had earlier mapped out additional Palliatives for State Workers as it said that it would provide more Palliatives for the Public Servants in the state whose work duty cannot be covered by the reduction in workdays due to the peculiar nature of their official duty.
A statement signed by Murtala Atoyebi, Chief Press Secretary in the office of the Head of Service said that the government is working to support those categories of workers with additional allowances to make up for their loss as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy.
“To this end, the government is working assiduously to provide appropriate allowances to support these categories of workers as a stopgap measure, pending conclusions on the review of minimum wage.
“The Kwara State Government is not ignorant of the evolving challenges of the removal of fuel subsidy. Thus, in furtherance of the recently approved reduction in workdays for its Civil Servants, the government is set to provide succor for workers that could not be covered by the reduction in workdays due to the peculiar nature of their official duties.
“The State Government had last Monday, announced a reduction in workdays from five to three days for its Civil Servants as part of efforts to address the challenges of fuel subsidy removal”, the statement said.
