Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo state weekend increased workers’ minimum wage to N40,000.00. He said the current economic situation caused by the removal of the subsidy is biting hard on the people and that the increment in salaries is to help cushion the hardship civil servants in the state are facing due to fuel subsidy removal.
In a statement issued by his chief press secretary/media adviser, Oguwuike Nkwachukwu, Governor Uzodimma said his administration would give out soft loans, grants, provide seedlings and farm tools to qualified farmers in the state.
The governor said, “Apart from the free transport which the workers are already enjoying, I shall increase the fleet of buses carrying workers to and from work with ten more buses. This is to ensure every nook and cranny of the state capital is captured in the routes that the buses ply, to bring the service closest to the doorstep of every worker.”
Also, plans have reached advanced level to recalibrate the tax system in Imo state, with Governor Uzodimma hinting that those who earn below N100,000.00 annually are likely going to be yanked off the state’s tax net.
“I have discovered, with pain, how some traders are taking advantage of the economic situation to increase the prices of food items in the markets.
“Against this backdrop, the government will soon establish Imo State Marketing and Commodity Board(ISMCB), which will ensure that food items are sold at normal prices. We shall achieve this by setting up low cost markets in the state where prices of food items and commodities will be affordable for the masses. The markets will be situated in all 27 LGAs of the state,” the statement read.
