Widows Employed to Clean the Street, Talks About How They Struggle to Survive on N8000 Salary

• The women who were employed to keep the street have shared their personal stories
• They disclosed the unfortunate struggles of surviving on a monthly salary of N8000
• The women also spoke about how the scheme, which was tailored to improve their standard of living, could not help them get by

So many women from Jos at Plateau State, Nigeria have shared how as cleaners, they sweep the street of their state every month to receive N8000 monthly salary.

The women who are all widows revealed that they were employed because their source of providers, their husbands, have departed the world and are now left to cater for themselves and their children independently, DailyTrust reports.

One of the cleaners said:

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“I am among the pioneer staff of the ministry. We were recruited by the Jonah Jang administration, and our salary is N8,000.00 per month. They say they are helping us, but in some months, they don’t pay us. I am doing it because I don’t have anyone to take care of me. I have five children, but two of them died after I lost my husband. The remaining three have no jobs. So, I have to do something to take care of myself.”

Widows employed so that they could feed themselves

The widows, who are mostly old and sometimes struggling with health, said the monthly salary has not been able to help them feed themselves or their families.

Another woman who cleans the Rukuba road at Jos said:

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"My problem is that this N8,000 cannot buy anything. I don’t see it as government helping us; we are just toiling for us to eat. We have been expecting the government to increase our salary, but they refused, and there is nothing we can do about it.”

The idea of recruiting widows to clean the street to serve as a poverty alleviation scheme was introduced in 2007 by Jonah Jang, a former Governor of Plateau State.

Even though the current government increased the salary from N8000 to N33,000 in 2022, the widows said it has not been implemented.

Currently, they are owed 2 months' salary at the old rate.

Widow donates 1% gratuity to Oyo government

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that A widow identified as Eunice Olaninhun has shown her sincere appreciation to the Oyo State Government for paying her gratuity.

Eunice said prior to her retirement, she made a promise that if she is still alive and healthy when she gets her gratuity, she would appreciate the Governor in charge of the state.

ine years after her retirement, Eunice received her gratuity during the present era of Governor Seyi Makinde and she has fulfilled her promise by giving 1% of her gratuity to the government.

Source: Legit.ng