The Governor of Kwara State, north-central Nigeria, Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, recently approved an immediate temporary reduction of workdays for the state’s workforce to lessen the subsidy removal’s impact on their earnings.

Development Diaries reports that based on the directive, civil servants will now work for only three days in a five-day workweek.

It is also understood that civil service authorities are expected to release further guidance on the measure, including how it affects health workers and teachers.

Similarly, the Governor of Oyo State, southwest Nigeria, Seyi Makinde, has commenced a move to review salaries of civil servants in the state as part of efforts to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal by the federal government.

According to reports, the governor has set up a committee comprising both representatives of the labour unions and the state government to come up with a workable minimum wage in three weeks.

While these moves are laudable, we believe that it is not inclusive. What are the plans for vulnerable groups in the states, including people with disabilities (PWDs)?

Development Diaries calls on the governments of Kwara and Oyo to make their interventions more inclusive by extending them to poor and vulnerable Nigerians in their states.

We also call on other state governments to come up with inclusive measures of cushioning the effects of the subsidy removal even as we await the plans of the federal government for the masses.

Photo source: Kwara State Government