Anambra State Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, has unveiled a series of incentives aimed at mitigating the hardships caused by the removal of subsidies on petrol.
In his statement on Monday, Governor Soludo revealed that the state government will be distributing bags of rice to over 300,000 households across the 326 wards in Anambra.
The governor personally signed the statement, outlining specific groups of vulnerable individuals who are exempt from all forms of taxation and levies. These include hawkers, wheelbarrow and truck pushers, vulcanizers, artisans, okada drivers, and petty traders with capital less than N100,000.
Furthermore, Soludo announced a 20% reduction in Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) payments for all transporters such as Keke, minibus, and others, starting from September 1, 2023.
According to Soludo, the guiding principle of his party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), emphasizes the importance of being each other’s keeper, and there is no better time to put this into action than now.
“There is no better time to fully embrace our motto and ideological stance on behalf of ordinary people,” said Soludo.
A more comprehensive agenda will be unveiled in the 2024 budget to address medium to long-term issues that will contribute to a better living and a prosperous homeland for all residents.
However, for the current remaining four months of the year (September-December 2023), the government has set forth immediate and medium-term measures to tackle the impact of subsidy removal.
“We recognize that the removal of subsidies affects all citizens, especially millions of unemployed and underemployed youths, as well as vulnerable segments of the population,” Soludo stated.
Starting from January 2023, the government had already increased the salaries of all public servants by 10% to respond to rising inflation. In addition to this adjustment, every pensioner and public servant employed by the Anambra State Government and the 21 LGAs will receive a monthly non-taxable cash award of N12,000 from September 2023 to December 2023.
The government is also committed to clearing all pension and gratuity arrears, which were already four years overdue when Soludo assumed office.
Furthermore, Soludo assured the people of Anambra that his government would work closely with the federal government to ensure that the state receives its rightful share of COVID-19 palliatives.
“We are determined to collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure that Anambra residents benefit maximally from the various palliatives being rolled out. This includes providing our updated Social Register for Anambra residents to benefit from the federal government’s cash transfer program, facilitating access to conditional grants of N50,000 for at least 1,300 nanobusiness owners in each of the 21 LGAs of the state, supporting MSMEs and startups in Anambra to apply for soft loans ranging from N500,000 to N1million at 9% per annum, repayable over a period of 36 months, and more,” Soludo explained.
