Oyo State governor Engr. Seyi Makinde has established a 15-man Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER) committee.
The committee is meant to mitigate the effects of fuel subsidy removal and the economic difficulties for state citizens.
The 15-man committee is headed by the Chief of Staff, Hon. Segun Ogunwuyi, while Professor Musibau Babatunde, Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, will serve as its secretary.
Other members of the committee included Mr Akinola Ojo, Commissioner for Finance; Barrister Olasunkanmi Olaleye, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development; Mr Segun Olayiwola, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters; Prince Dotun Oyelade, Commissioner for Information; and Comrade Bayo Titilola-Sodo, Special Adviser, Labour Matters.
Also on the committee were Chief Bayo Lawal, Senior Executive Assistant, General Duties; Alhaji Kolawole Gafar, Executive Assistant, Finance, Budget & Economic Planning; CP Sunday Odukoya (rtd), Executive Assistant, Security; Miss Ololade Ajibola, Senior Special Assistant, Special Duties; Bishop Daniel Oluwajimade.
Others were representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria; Alhaji Muniru Ogundipe, representative of the Muslim Community; Mr Ademola Babalola, representative of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Mr Jide Bamgbose, representative of the Civil Society Organisations.
During a statewide broadcast on Saturday, the governor announced the multi-pronged SAfER intervention to ease the economic burden foisted on the people by the subsidy removal.
Makinde said: “After wide consultations, we have arrived at decisions that we believe will be of the most benefit to the good people of Oyo State.
“Our SAfER package will ensure a softer landing for the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable. It will also address the need for food security through direct intervention to our farmers.”
The governor added that in developing the interventions, “we considered the importance of using these economic packages to stimulate our economy and bring about sustainable development.”
The SAfER package comes under six major headings viz-a-viz: Transportation, including the extension of bus routes, the introduction of inter-city Omituntun Buses to link geo-political zones and fare reduction for students as well as the aged;
Food Relief Package which will focus on providing over 200,000 poorest of the poor households in the state with food items;
Food Security which is an intervention aimed at providing input support for 10,000 farmers in the state;
Agropreneurial support through which young agropreneurs under the Youth Entrepreneurship in Agribusiness Project (YEAP), who have established businesses, would have access to N500 million loan to improve their agricultural enterprises.
SMEs Stimulation Package is for the provision of N500 million low-interest rate loans for small and micro-enterprises (SMEs), including traders, artisans, and other small business operators, in the state through microfinance banks.
Healthcare support through which the government will be providing health insurance for 100,000 of the most vulnerable citizens.
The SAfER package will also pay their one-year health insurance premium under the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA) scheme.
In the same vein, the government will pay the health insurance premium for all pensioners under the OYSHIA scheme and any pensioner who has already made payment will be refunded.
