Contrary to the prevailing argument that the proposed N8,000 palliative by the Tinubu administration will not be enough to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidies, the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, says otherwise.
The governor, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, disagreed with those who questioned what such a meagre amount of money could provide, insisting that N8,000 is a lot of money for so many poor families in the country who don’t get to see such an amount in a month.
“We were sharing only N5,000, and believe me, there were so many people that were waiting for that N5,000 every month. Indeed, some communities were able to make some kind of contribution, and they were able to do a lot in their various communities.
“So, N8,000 may not be so much money to some people, but it is a lot to so many other people who are from very poor families that don’t see N8,000 every month. So, the only thing is that we identify those families,” Governor Sule said.
In a meeting on Thursday, the National Executive Council (NEC) agreed on palliative measures for Nigerians.
In the meeting, which was chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima and also attended by governors of the 36 states of the Federation, the NEC agreed that cash transfers would be done via state social registers instead of national social registers subject to state peculiarities.
Governor Sule admitted that there were issues with the national social register, adding that there were cases where people who were not supposed to be on the register were collecting funds from the government.
He, however, said that the governors are not saying that the national social register should be discarded but that areas where amendments are needed should be looked into.
“There are issues, and that is why I think a lot of the new governors have been the two-time governors that are there, and some of us that have been there have been complaining about it.”
“But we are not saying that it should be discarded; we are just saying it should be looked into, and if there are areas for amendment, we should amend them,” he said.
The President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government had proposed to transfer N8,000 to 12 million poor households in Nigeria for a period of six months to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidies on Nigerians.
According to the President, the money transfer to poor households would have a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals.
The President also said the money would be transferred electronically directly to the beneficiaries to ensure the credibility of the process.
