ABEOKUTA — The Ogun state governor, Dapo Abiodun has stated that in less than a month, the value of the Dollar against the Naira will crash, saying that the Federal Government is doing everything to deliver on its electoral promises.
Abiodun stated this on Wednesday, at a stakeholder meeting held at the Cultural Center, Kuto Abeokuta on the heels of the prevailing economic hardship in the country.
He added that the assurance is based on an emergency meeting President Bola Tinubu held with the Governors, saying that the FG is aware of the problems and ready to address it head long.
“I can assure you that the dollar will crash down in less than a month. The meeting we had with the President is very assuring and now we know that there are saboteur in the economy, but their aim will not succeed
” In light of the current situation, we have made the decision to provide our citizens with essential food items such as rice, garri, and beans. I have arranged for nearly 100 trailers of rice to be delivered, with offloading beginning tomorrow.
“To ensure fair distribution, we have decided that the elderly and vulnerable will receive the rice free of charge, while others will be able to purchase it at the original price before the increase in the value of the dollar. This will allow us to sustain the initiative until the dollar issue is resolved.
“It is important to remember that the challenges we are facing are temporary and will pass. I am confident that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is leading us effectively, and his actions will soon bring about positive change. The recent discussions I had with the Central Bank Governor reaffirmed this, as he assured me that the value of the dollar will soon decrease”, he said
Recall that Abiodun during a press briefing last week announced a N5 billion intervention fund to cushion the affect of rising cost of living and inflation in the State.
“As our administration acknowledges the concerns raised by many of our citizens regarding the rising food prices and shortages, coupled with the depreciation of the Naira, we identify with you and are taking proactive measures to alleviate the impact of these challenges to guarantee the welfare, well-being and wellness of our citizens in this difficult time.
“In this direction and through targeted interventions, we aim to address these challenges by implementing a series of phased initiatives aimed at alleviating these burdens on all our citizens.
“The State has taken the following steps: Education Sector: Providing a minimum of 5 exercise books for all 850,000 students in our public primary and secondary schools.
“We are providing a one-time N10,000 education support grant for at least 100,000 pupils in our public primary and secondary schools in the state. Providing all 27,600 indigent students in tertiary institutions nationwide with an education grant of N50,000 each”, Abiodun said
He said his administration would provide insurance health cover for over 70,000 beneficiaries to include pregnant women, children, the elderly, market women and other members of the informal sector while pregnant women, under the Ibidero Scheme would be providing free pre-natal care, an additional N5,000 per birth and free post-natal care in the State Hospitals and Primary Health Care Centers across the State.
Governor Abiodun stated that provision would be made for food palliatives to include rice and other food items for about 300,000 households across the State.
“The State Government will commence to offset the backlog of inherited deductions. To this end, we are immediately committing N500 million monthly payment towards outstanding deductions. It is noteworthy that we have continues to pay N10,000 transport allowance to all civil servants for the last 8 months.
“This brings our total immediate interventions as a responsible State Government to about N5 billion across all sectors of the State economy,” the governor submitted.
He noted that his administration would not be insensitive to the challenges being faced by the citizens, appreciating the people for their perseverance, patience and understanding.
“Let me assure you that the present economic situation is just a transient phase that will soon pass. Whatever we experience now are just necessary sacrifices that we have to make towards ensuring a greater tomorrow.
“In a special way, we extend our appreciation to the President and Commander-In-Chief of Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR for his continuous efforts in navigating the complexities of our nation’s economic landscape.
“His dedication to steering the ship through turbulent times has not gone unnoticed,” he concluded.
