In Osun, Adeleke rolls out measures to ease hardship on residents

Against the backdrop of increasing food inflation across the country and hike in the pump price of petrol, the Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, has issued a series of policy directives to alleviate residents’ economic pains and hardship.

Mr Adeleke, who had assured #EndBadGovernance protesters of ongoing steps to fulfil their demands, instructed government agencies to fast-track implementation of programmes and policies on food security, internal security, minimum wage, and fuel affordability, among others.

The disclosure was made in a statement by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed.

“I am committed to implementing our commitments, especially from the recent national protests, as they affect issues within our mandate areas. We are passionate to push ahead with our welfare agenda, which is number one on our governance programmes.

“It is in that line that I hereby direct the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Security Committee Action to commence the implementation process without any further delay. We must roll out action plans with timeliness for achieving the goals of food access, farm security and food affordability, Mr Adeleke said.

The governor disclosed that by next week, he would be flagging off the distribution of farm equipment, seedlings and farm inputs, including fertilisers and tractors, among others.

He directed the agricultural ministry to finalise plans for the multiple cultivation of hundreds of hectares of land across the local governments under the Young Agropreneurs Incubation programme.

“We must implement a comprehensive back to farm project that includes state assistance for farm preparation, tractorisation and off taking mechanisms,” he added.

The state governor, who promised enlarged governance consultation with stakeholders such as civil societies, students and youths, equally tasked the Ministry of Science and Innovations to produce an implementation plan for the recently amended and approved State ICT Policy and State Innovation Policy to widen space for youth engagement.

“Our government recognises deployment of ICT for job creation and youth engagement. Hence, we recently approved a state ICT and Tech Innovation policies. The relevant ministry is expected to prepare for implementation especially for job creation among our teeming youth.

“Our government has started paying bursaries to students. The first phase is completed. We are working on the second phase. We are committed to supporting the education of youth in various institutions. We have a programme in the pipeline for students in tertiary institutions, a talent hunt programme to be implemented with the student leadership in the state.

“Meanwhile, we will continue to pay the half salary and pension debts we inherited from the previous governments. We will continue to ease the pains of our senior citizens and workers,” Mr Adeleke added.

Speaking on minimum wage, he stated that his administration has set up an implementation committee with relevant stakeholders included to ensure an all-inclusive process.

He stressed that the state was committed to supporting its workers as a labour-friendly government.

While acknowledging that inflation accounts for the high cost of food, the state governor expressed optimism that the food security committee’s ongoing action will ease the harsh impact of food inflation.

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He further directed the state task force on petrol monitoring to engage marketers across the state, adding, “I urge petrol retailers and marketers not to hoard petrol products. They need to support the people by not exploiting the situation for personal gains.

“The State Task Force is to swing into action immediately. We must engage the fuel marketers. The pain of our people must not be compounded,” Mr Adeleke said.