While the Federal Government had months back removed subsidy on the commodity, it gave food palliatives to state governments for onward distribution to Nigerians. It also gave N5bn to them.
“If you share that N5bn or even the five trucks of rice or grain, many people may not get one or half cup of rice,” he said no this on Channels Television’s
“If you share the N5bn, many people, probably within the working class or the poor of the poor, may not get N1,500. Now, is that the palliative?
But hours after declaring a two-day nationwide strike owing to the impacts of fuel subsidy removal, the NLC President Joe Ajaero says the distribution of food palliatives is inadequate to combat the effects of the government’s move.
The labour chief described the palliatives as mere tokenism, maintaining they cannot cushion the impacts of the subsidy removal policy.
“When you do it, you reduce us to mere tokenism – maybe give us N10,000 for three months and leave people to die. That is not the issue, “Ajaero added.
“We have to sit down and look at some measures that would cushion the effects or that would substitute the suffering of Nigerians. So, by the time you say you are giving state governors N5bn each, what does that translate to if they share it?
Adding that if the money budgeted for the palliatives was put into the public transport system, the people would be better for it.
+ There are no comments
Add yours