Nigeria Federal Government’s planned distribution of N500 billion to Nigerians as palliatives to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal has been condemned by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) who described it as another ploy to further impoverish the people.
In a statement, NLC President, Joe Ajaero described the Federal Government’s move as robbing the people of Nigeria to pay and feed the rich.
Ajaero said the government has allegedly started threading the line of dictatorship instead of placing priority on the welfare of its people.
It is on this basis that the NLC strongly condemns the decision of the Tinubu-led administration to seek the approval of the National Assembly to obtain another tranche of external loans worth N500b from the World Bank to carry out a phantom palliative measure to cushion the effect of its poorly thought-out hike in the prices of Premium Motor Spirit.” He noted.
According to Ajaero, the government’s proposal to pay N8,000 to 12 million poorest Nigerian families for six months is an insult to the people’s collective intelligence and makes a mockery of their patience.
The NLC President maintained that government’s proposal to pay National Assembly members N70bn and the judiciary N36bn is insensitive as it amounts to diversion of the people’s collective wealth into the pockets of public officers.
“There is no other way to explain the proposal to pay a misery sum of N8,000 Naira to each of the mysterious poorest 12 million Households for six months which amounts to N48,000 and pays just 469 National Legislators N70b or about N149m each while the Judiciary that has about 72 Appeal Court Judges, 33 National Industrial Court Judges, 75 Federal High Court Judges and 21 Supreme Court Judges and a total of about 201 Judges receive a total of N35b or N174m each. The statement added.
President Bola Tinubu had on July 12 written to the House of Representative seeking amendment to the 2022 supplementary appropriation Act to allow the Federal Government source N500 billion for palliative to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.
The President had also in another letter to the House, also asked for approval of additional financing for the national social safety net programme scaled up by the National Assembly saying this would have a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals.
President Bola Tinubu has said 12 million families will get N8,000 over a period of six months to lessen the hardships faced by Nigerians as a result of subsidy removal.
Meanwhile President Bola Ahmed had on Tuesday directed the immediate review of the 8,000 Naira conditional cash transfer programme aimed at providing succour to most vulnerable households.
The President has also directed the unveiling of the whole palliative package meant to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal.
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