Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has met with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, praising his economic policies amid complaints of hardship from citizens.
He said he met with the president to thank him for creating the enabling environment for the successful conduct of the recent Ondo governorship election.
Speaking to correspondents after the meeting following his election victory, he acknowledged that things have become more difficult with the removal of the petroleum subsidy, which he said has also led to a rise in the income of farmers.
He mentioned that following the last #EndBadGovernance protest, he was able to convince the people of Ondo State about the positive direction of the present administration, which encouraged them to re-elect him.
The governor pointed out that a ton of cocoa, the state’s main agricultural produce, which was sold for about $2,000 a few years ago, now goes for about $10,000.
He said: “Yes, it’s true that after the removal of the subsidy, there have been some economic challenges, not just in Ondo State but across the nation.
“But we were able to educate our people, especially during the engagement we had during the August #EndBadGovernance protest, which was organized by some groups in society.
“We were able to engage our people across the state, and during our campaign, we also let them know that what we’re experiencing now is temporary. Society is not static; it is evolving.
“And I gave examples, such as when in 1982, as a school cert holder, I got a job at a school assembly plant. I used this example to show them that the minimum wage at that time was N125, and with that, you could afford a lot of things.
“But today, the minimum wage is N70,000. It’s an evolution. It has nothing to do with the government per se. It’s a global trend.”
“Society evolves, and this evolution brings about different issues, and that is what we need to address. We need to deal with it, and we try to educate our people that the only thing we need to do now is to find a way to earn more so that we can meet up with the cost of living.
How do you earn more? By engaging, for example, the work that organised labour has done. They said the initial minimum wage is no longer enough to meet the current situation. They demanded an increase, which, after negotiations, resulted in a N70,000 minimum wage.”
Aiyedatiwa called on the opposition candidate in Ondo, Agboola Ajayi, to work with him for the progress of the state, now that the election is over.
He said that if Ajayi has good ideas, his administration would be willing to incorporate them into its policies to move the state forward.
“Well, my advice to the opposition is, since he also desired to govern the state, it means he has something to offer. But the people prefer us, so he should join hands with the winning party, with the government.
“In terms of whatever offerings he has, he can still pass them through us so that we can share them with the people, and the people will be the overall winners at the end of the day,” he said.
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