By KAZEEM AKANDE

Agege Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State on Tuesday announced a reduction of its working days to three to help ameliorate the economic hardship being faced by workers.

The council also lowered levies paid by traders and residents of the area.

The Council Chairman, Chief Ganiyu Egunjobi, made the declarations in a statement in Agege.

“These reductions became imperative in view of the effect of subsidy withdrawal by the Federal Government on residents of the area,”

“Our staff are not spared of the prevailing economic hardship brought about by oil subsidy removal by the government.

“While the subsidy regime removal is welcomed as it was only benefitting few elites and smugglers at the expense of the critical sectors of the economy and the common man.

“The council leadership is not unmindful of the unintended consequences it foisted on our staff and residents.

“At this trying time, the council on my watch is determined to give solace to members of staff, residents and business operators in some measure,” he said.

Egunjobi added: “Various forms of levies paid to the council by residents and business operators are hereby lowered.”

The council chairman, however, said that the number of working days assigned to workers had been reduced to three, based on roster so as to reduce the amount of money spent on transportation daily.

According to him, it is meant to reduce the sum of money staff spend on commuting from home to work and vice versa in the face of rising fares.

He said that only the staff in departments of Health and Environment, who were expected to be in office on usual days were exempted from the new development.

The council boss, however, ordered the four free school shuttle buses meant to convey the public school children to begin transporting the workers freely, pending the resumption of students.

“Since our students are on holiday, and their four buses are redundant, we are putting it in the service of our staff to complement their own staff bus in commuting them to work and homes,” Egunjobi said. (NAN)

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