Subsidy removal: Edo govt reduces work days, increases minimum wage

Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo on Tuesday reduced the number of work days that civil and public servants would have to commute to their workplaces from five days to three days a week, among other measures.

In a statement made available to newsmen in Benin, Obaseki said the measure was part of efforts to ameliorate the sufferings currently faced by the people in the wake of the rise in prices of goods and services occasioned by the fuel subsidy removal.

“In the wake of fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government, fuel prices have increased astronomically, leading to a rise in the prices of goods and services and the overall cost of living.

“The Edo State Government shares the pains of our people and wants to assure everyone that we are standing with them in these very challenging times.

“We want to reassure our people that we will do all within our powers as a sub-national government to reduce the pains and ameliorate the sufferings our people are currently facing due to the current realities.

“As a proactive government, we have since taken the step to increase the minimum wage paid to workers in Edo State from the approved N30,000 to N40,000.

“We hope to increase it even further if more allocations accrue to our state from the federal government in view of the expected savings from the removal of the fuel subsidy,” the governor said.

According to him, we know the hardship that has been caused by this policy, which has increased the cost of transportation, eating deep into the wages of workers in the state.

“Therefore, the Edo State Government is hereby reducing the number of work days that civil and public servants will have to commute to their workplaces from five days to three days a week till further notice.

“Workers will now work from home two days every week.

“Similarly, for teachers and parents, their commuting to school will be reduced as the government is working on deepening the EdoBEST@Home initiative.

“To create more virtual classrooms, thereby reducing the cost of commuting for parents, teachers, and pupils,

“The Edo SUBEB will provide details on this initiative in the coming days,’’ Obaseki said.

He said that to lower the rising cost of energy for the people, the state government would continue to work with the electricity companies in the state to improve power supply to homes and businesses.

“Similarly, fiber optic connections are being made available to help our people work remotely, thereby reducing their cost of transportation,” he said.

Obaseki called on all to remain calm and go about their daily businesses lawfully while the government intensified efforts to alleviate the burden of fuel prices.