Abuja — ·- Aiyedatiwa Defends Tinubu's economic policies
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, yesterday after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, commended the federal government on its economic policies amid complaints of hardship from citizens.
The governor said the only thing the people need to do now is to look for a way to earn more so that they can meet up with the cost of living.
The governor also called on the opposition in Ondo State to join hands with him and give to his administration good policies they have so that the people will be the overall winner at the end of the day.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had on November 16 declared Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the governorship election in Ondo.
Speaking to State House correspondents after meeting behind closed doors with the President, the governor said he went to thank Tinubu for creating an enabling environment for the successful conduct of the Ondo governorship election.
Aiyedatiwa acknowledged that things have become more difficult with the removal of subsidy on petrol which he said has also caused a rise in the income of farmers.
He said following the last #EndBadGovernance protest, he was able to convince the people of Ondo State on the positive direction of the present administration, which encouraged the people to re-elect him.
The governor pointed out that a ton of cocoa, the main agricultural produce of the state 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 subsidy, there have been some kind of economic challenges, not only in Ondo State but across the nation, but we're able to educate our people, especially the engagement we had during the August #EndBadGovernance protest.
"We were able to engage our people and during our campaign, we also let them know that what we're experiencing now is just for a time, that society is not static. It's an evolution of society.
"And giving an example of 1982 when I was just a school cert holder, I got a job at a school assembly plant, and the minimum wage at that time was N125. With that in 1982 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 thing.
"Society evolves and evolution brings about different issues, and that is what we need to deal with and we try to educate our people, that the only thing we need to do now is to look for a way to earn more so that we can meet up with the cost of living.
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"How do you earn more? The Organized Labour say the initial minimum wage is not enough anymore to meet up with the current situation. They demanded an increase, which, after negotiation, was fixed at N70,000."
Aiyedatiwa called on the opposition candidate in Ondo, Agboola Ajayi, to work with him for the progress of the state since the election is now over.
He said if he has good ideas, his administration will incorporate them into its policies to move the state forward.
"My advice to the opposition, since he desires to also govern the state, meaning he has something to offer, but the people prefer us, so he should join hands with the winning party, the government. In terms of whatever offering he has, he can still pass it to us so that the people will be the overall winner at the end of the day," he said.
