By Boluwatife Rotimi
The leadership of the Labour Party questioned president Bola Ahmed Tinubu on spending N4.3tn on palliative and loan meant to lessen the effect of the fuel subsidy removal and other economic policies, saying it has no direct impact on the lives of the masses.
The ruling All Progressive Congress requested for a substantial Evidence from the opposition because unprofessional to just conclude that the palliatives did not reach the vulnerable people who were targeted. Following the removal of the fuel subsidy by president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the federal government rolled out the a number of palliatives measures.
Specifically during a national broadcast on July 31, the President announced the government’s first sets of palliatives, which included N100bn to acquire 3,000 units of 20-seater CNG-fuelled buses, N200bn to boost agriculture production, N75bn for manufacturers, and N125bn for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and the informal sector.
This move was to relief Nigrians from the pain caused by the fuel subsidy removal, said the president. Ifoh said, “The rolled out palliatives was just an illusion and was not distributed among Nigerians. For instance, can you, as a Nigerian living in this country, confirm that any of your family received out of the N4.3trn palliatives? We don’t even know whether all these figures are always meant to end on the pages of newspapers.
I have yet to see anybody in Nigeria who benefited from that money. Even in my village, I can tell you nobody have seen a dime. So where did they spend the money? That is the issue.The air of minimum wage has not been cleared up to this moment.
The way things are going, there’s likely to be another outburst and nobody knows when it will be clear again. We are appealing to the government to wake up and make things right and enjoyable for all Nigerians.
“Mr President has always said that these are tough and difficult times.” What he has set out to do through palliatives is to ensure that we as government and as the party in power introduce policies, palliatives and measures to address the increasing hardship in the land.