On Tuesday, Agege Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State told its staff to only work for three days per week. This is done to ease the economic hardship being faced by workers due to the recent removal of fuel subsidy.
The Chairman of the council, Chief Ganiyu Egunjobi, who made the declarations in a statement in Agege, equally lowered levies paid by traders and residents of the area.
He said, “These reductions became imperative in view of the effect of subsidy withdrawal by the Federal Government on residents of the area,
“Our staff are not spared of the prevailing economic hardship brought about by oil subsidy removal by the government.
“While the subsidy regime removal is welcomed as it was only benefitting few elites and smugglers at the expense of the critical sectors of the economy and the common man.
“The council leadership is not unmindful of the unintended consequences it foisted on our staff and residents.
“At this trying time, the council on my watch is determined to give solace to members of staff, residents and business operators in some measure.”
He went further to say, “Various forms of levies paid to the council by residents and business operators are hereby lowered.”
According to him, based on roster, the number of working days assigned to workers had been reduced to three to reduce the amount of money spent on transportation daily.
He, meanwhile, said that only the staff in departments of Health and Environment were exempted as they are expected to be in office on usual days.
Egunjobi instructed that the four free school shuttle buses that convey the LGA’s public school children to school, to start conveying workers to work freely, pending the resumption of schools.
“Since our students are on holiday, and their four buses are redundant, we are putting it in the service of our staff to complement their own staff bus in commuting them to work and homes,” he said.