Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma has increased the minimum wage in the state to N40,000.
This is part of the governor’s efforts to contain the hardship faced by the workers, which was recently made worse by the removal of fuel subsidy in the country by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
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He also rolled out multiple palliatives to alleviate the sufferings of the people of the state.
The palliatives include enhanced free transportation, feeding and medical care for workers, loans to genuine farmers, establishment of marketing and commodity boards, payment of gratuities to retirees, mass housing, recruitment of more teachers for primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, bursary and scholarship for Imo State students.
Governor Uzodimma unveiled the package at a special meeting of critical stakeholders comprising religious leaders, politicians, farmers, traders, labour leaders, at the Rockview Hotel, Owerri.
The governor said he knows that “we are buying petrol now at the rate of N530 per litre as against the previous rate of N189, you may hardly believe it. But I know that faith and hope are recurring words in our everyday lives.”
Uzodimma said he had watched with keen interest how people have been faring since the removal of the subsidy on fuel was announced, noting, “I can tell you that I have been deeply worried by my observations.”
He said, “It is clear to me that our people are suffering, particularly the low-income earners and those in paid employment. I have therefore convened this special meeting with the leadership of organised labour, traders, farmers and artisans, to announce the comprehensive palliative measures we are putting in place, which I am sure will ease these sufferings, in addition to the measures expected from the federal government. I want you to know that I am with you in your travails. I share in your worries.”
He said he shared in their pains and anxieties, “but most importantly, I am here to tell you to worry less, to give you hope and to assure you that help is on the way. I want to let you into my plans for you. The plans that will alleviate the impact of the subsidy removal, stimulate the economy, create additional jobs and enhance the wages of workers.”
The event which turned out to be an interactive session, saw speakers like the Anglican Archbishop of the Owerri Ecclesiastical Province, Most Rev. David Onuoha, his counterpart from the Catholic Archdiocese of Owerri, Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji (represented), the chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Imo State, Dr Philip Nwansi and his colleagues from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), the Imo State chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr Eches Divine Eches, among others, commending the governor for taking the lead in providing solutions to the sufferings of the people.