TheCable

The Ondo government has announced a series of palliative packages to alleviate the harsh impacts of petrol subsidy removal on the citizens in the state.

Announcing the measure in Akure on Thursday, Wale Akinterinwa, the commissioner for finance and chairman of the palliative strategy and implementation committee, said an unconditional cash transfer of N10,000 would be made to 1,000 vulnerable persons per local government in the 18 LGAs, totalling 18,000 people.

Akinterinwa added that all the state and local government pensioners would also receive N10,000 each from August to December.

He said one million households would be fed across the entire local government areas of the state.

The commissioner also said that the palliatives also include agrochemicals, seeds, drip lines, farm tools and power tillers for farmers.

“Farm inputs at subsidised rates will be made available to farmers. Our poultry and fish farmers will be given free drugs, maize and feeds,” he said.

“In addition, training on local feed formulation and production will be given to interested poultry and fish farmers to help them look inwards.

Akinterinwa said the state has made provisions to restore free shuttle buses for students, starting from their resumption in September to December 31.

He said tricycles will be provided for farmers to aid the movement of farm produce, adding that those in riverine areas will be provided with fishing nets and kilns to equip them for fish farming.

“In like manner, free shuttle boats, equipped with life jackets for students in riverine areas, would be provided, starting at resumption in September to December 31. Thereafter, affordable rates would be charged from January 2024,” he said.

“We will immediately deploy all the existing buses in all the MDAs to serve as free shuttle buses to public servants until December 31. Additional compressed natural gas (CNG) would be purchased to convey public servants to and from work at no cost to them, until December 31.

“In riverine areas, fishing nets and kilns will be on offer. To ease the movement of farm produce, tricycles will be given free to communities. This will be supervised by officially recognised, community-based stakeholder groups.

The commissioner added that there would be an immediate suspension of hospital registration and consultation fees, noting that the state government will reimburse the hospitals directly based on existing data.