Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, last weekend, commenced the sale of rice to civil servants in the state as parts of his commitment to the welfare of the workforce.
The event took place at the ‘Oja Irorun’ Civil Servants Farmers’ Market at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
Governor Abiodun, who was represented by the Head of Service, Mr. Kehinde Onasanya said the occasion was a significant step in the ongoing efforts of the state government at improving the living standards of workers in the state.
The governor praised the dedication and the commitment of the workers to service, which he noted contributed immensely to the success achieved by his administration.
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“Ogun State civil servants’ dedication and hard work form the bedrock of the progress and prosperity of our dear state. Recognising this invaluable essence of workers to the actualisation of the policies and programmes of the state government, the administration has graciously approved the sale of high quality bags of rice at discounted prices exclusively to the workforce,” the governor said.
Prince Abiodun urged workers across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to take full advantage of the opportunity and embrace the good gesture by the state government.
In his welcome address, the Head of Service, Mr. Kehinde Onasanya, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Establishments and Training, Mrs. Lydia Fajounbo appreciated the government for the initiative, which is one of the many interventions by the government to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal for the state workforce.
The Head of Service, however, urged the workers to reciprocate the good gesture of government by remaining dedicated to duties and collectively work for the progress of the state.
In their separate goodwill messages, the Chairman, Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JNC), Comrade Isa Olude and his counterpart from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ademola Ahmed-Benco, appreciated the state government for the initiative, which they said, would restore the purchasing power of the people and promote the welfare of workers.
The union leaders added that the gesture was a testament that the state has a caring and listening governor whom they are proud of, and charged the workers to reciprocate the gesture by effectively and efficiently discharging their statutory duties.
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Two of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Temitope Akintayo from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism as well as Mr. Olabanji Sanni, from the Ministry of Environment, thanked the state government for putting the process into motion and promised to keep working assiduously towards effective service delivery.
The bags of rice were handed over to the beneficiaries by Mr. Onasanya on behalf of the government while buses were also provided at no cost to convey the workers from the venue of the programme to a reasonable distance.
It would be recalled that the Prince Abiodun-led administration has been made concerted efforts towards ensuring that the workforce and the entire people of the Gateway State are shielded as much as possible from the attendant effects of the fuel subsidy removal by the Federal Government through various interventions.
The interventions include provision of monthly cash palliative, payment of peculiar allowance to deserving workers, provision of CNG buses workers and the citizens as well as the unprecedented payment of a robust end of year bonus to all civil/public servants of the State last December, amongst others.