President Bola Tinubu has announced a N25,000 wage award to low-grade workers in the civil service, as part of measures to cushion the impact of the fuel subsidy removal policy.
Tinubu pledged on Sunday, October 1, as part of his Independence Day Broadcast to the nation, where he noted that the salary increase would last for six months.
Commenting on the crisis facing Nigerians and the proposed indefinite strike by members of the organised Labour, Tinubu said he was attuned to the hardships that have come.
He said he had a heart that feels and eyes that see.
โI wish to explain to you why we must endure this trying moment. Those who sought to perpetuate the fuel subsidy and broken foreign exchange policies are people who would build their family mansion in the middle of a swamp.
โI am different. I am not a man to erect our national home on a foundation of mud. To endure, our home must be constructed on safe and pleasant ground,โ he said.
The President went further to state that โreform may be painful, but it is what greatness and the future require. We now carry the costs of reaching a future in Nigeria where the abundance and fruits of the nation are fairly shared among all, not hoarded by a select and greedy few.
โA Nigeria where hunger, poverty and hardship are pushed into the shadows of an ever fading past.โ
According to Tinubu, โThere is no joy in seeing the people of this nation shoulder burdens that should have been shed years ago. I wish todayโs difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future.
โMy government is doing all that it can to ease the load. I will now outline the path we are taking to relieve the stress on our families and households.
โWe have embarked on several public sector reforms to stabilize the economy, direct fiscal and monetary policy to fight inflation, encourage production, ensure the security of lives and property and lend more support to the poor and the vulnerable.
โBased on our talks with labour, business and other stakeholders, we are introducing a provisional wage increment to enhance the federal minimum wage without causing undue inflation. For the next six months, the average low-grade worker shall receive an additional Twenty-Five Thousand naira per month.
โTo ensure better grassroots development, we set up an Infrastructure Support Fund for states to invest in critical areas. States have already received funds to provide relief packages against the impact of rising food and other prices.
โMaking the economy more robust by lowering transport costs will be key. In this regard, we have opened a new chapter in public transportation through the deployment of cheaper, safer Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses across the nation. These buses will operate at a fraction of current fuel prices, positively affecting transport fares.โ
โNew CNG conversion kits will start coming in very soon as all hands are on deck to fast track the usually lengthy procurement process. We are also setting up training facilities and workshops across the nation to train and provide new opportunities for transport operators and entrepreneurs.
โThis is a groundbreaking moment where, as a nation, we embrace more efficient means to power our economy. In making this change, we also make history,โ Tinubu noted in his Independence Day Broadcast to Nigerians.
