I’ ll increase minimum wage in Lagos to N60,000, cancel Alpha Beta contract May 29 if elected gov — Rhodes-Vivour

 

.Pledges jumbo pay for street sweepers, civil servants

.’Toll gates in Lekki Ajah axis, Ikoyi link bridge to go’

.Vows no hiding place for agberos

 

IBRAHIM QUADRI

 

Governorship candidate of the Labour Party, LP in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour has unveiled his work plan for 100 days in office if elected governor.

 

He said one of the major decisions he would take  is to raise the minimum wage paid to civil servants in the state from N30,000 to N60,000 per month.

 

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had shifted the  gubernatorial election from March 11 to March 18 due to the tribunal ruling on reconfiguration of BVAS for the governorship and state houses of assembly election.

 

But unveiling his manifesto recently, he also pledged to pull down all toll gates in the Lekki Ajah axis and Ikoyi link bridge among others.

 

The highlights of the document read: “On Day 1 in Office, the salary of civil servants will be increased by 100% to N60,000 monthly. The target is to reach N100,000 as soon as possible. This will cover everybody including street sweepers.

 

“Moral persuasion to persuade the Organised Private Sector to follow government’’s lead by stopping casualisation and also increase their minimum wage to a living wage. Banks, telcos, oil companies, multinationals, large national corporates, etc will be incentivised with PAYE tax credits to stop casualisation and index their minimum wage to their capacity to pay rather than current market wage rates which are suppressed by high unemployment. A first step for a Lagos where every worker has health care, pensions and similar benefits.

 

“Use the savings from the cancellation of Alpha Beta contract to set up a grand Loan Scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises. Ensure at least 10,000 beneficiaries in the first 100 Days. We expect the scheme to benefit up to 1m beneficiaries in four years.

 

“Establish a portal for publishing costs of all government projects and compare them to World Bank standards to eliminate waste and corruption.

 

“Issue a 10-year order for 10,000 vehicles to an auto manufacturer that commits to building an auto assembly plant in Lagos with a credible plan to achieve 50% value added within 5 years.

 

“Build a monument in memory of our slain sons and daughters at the old Lekki Toll Gate. Advertise for the employment of 10,000 teachers with outstanding grades (First Class and Second Upper or Upper Credit) to start a process of repositioning teaching as a middle-class career.

 

“Execute a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU with all Road Transport Unions for the implementation of a rehabilitation and retraining programme, and take Agberos off our roads.

 

“Invite bids for the design and construction of 100 kilometres of rail across Lagos. Host an education summit with all stakeholders to get buy-in into GRV’s plan for partnerships to upscale public schools to the standards of the best private school.

 

“Host a health summit with all stakeholders to get buy-in for partnerships to upscale services at Primary Health Centres to best-in-class, laying the foundation for an effective referral system.

 

“A summit for various artisan associations such as bricklayers, plumbers, mechanics, welders, carpenters, tailors and other technicians with the objective of creating a process for their certification and access to small-scale loans.

 

“Working with my Party, the Labour Party, appoint first-class caretaker Chairmen for each Local Government, each appointee being skilled enough to be a potential Governor.

 

“Issue Guidelines to open up the BRT routes to all investors who meet the minimum standards. Create a programme for widespread investment in public transport by all willing Lagosians and investors.

 

“Issue Guidelines for markets to operate autonomously and appoint their own Iyalojas and Babalojas.

 

“Release Guidelines for a new waste management system for separating waste to paper, plastic and organic from homes; a first step towards a world class system for turning waste into biogas and fertilizer.

 

“Emergency rehabilitation of buildings and facilities in 100 primary and secondary schools pending comprehensive reconstruction.

 

“Enumeration of all apartments that have been vacant for more than 180 days, and commencement of a programme to ensure occupancy by 31st December. At least 100 such apartments are to be occupied in the first 100 days.

 

“The commencement of the rehabilitation of 100 inner roads spread across all Local Governments in Lagos,” amongst others.