*What the presidency, NASS did amounts to stealing, is wicked, insensitive, they insist

The plan by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to transfer N8,000 to undisclosed 12 million poor and vulnerable households for a period of six months to allegedly cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, has been described as “stealing, wicked snd insensitive”.

According to Tinubu, the disbursement is to expand responsive safety net to support vulnerable Nigerians meet basic needs.

In a letter to the Senate read by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, at plenary, Thirsday, it was discovered that what Tinubu did was a resubmission of the request of former president, Muhammadu Buhari’s $800 million World Bank loan request to the Senate to cushion the effects of subsidy removal.

On May 10, 2023, 19 days to the end of his administration, Buhari had sent the same request to the National Assembly, but  the Ahmad Lawan-led Senate refused to approve the loan before it adjourned indefeintately in June.

Part of the letter read: “You may further wish to note that under the conditional cash transfer window of the programme, the Federal Government of Nigeria will transfer the sum of N8,000 a month to 12 million poor and low income households for a period of six months with a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals. 

“In order to guarantee the credibility of the process, digital transfers will be made directly to beneficiaries accounts and mobile wallets.

“It is expected that the programme will stimulate economic activities in the informal sector and improve  nutrition, health and education outcomes for beneficial households.

“Given the above, I wish to invite the senate to kindly grant approvals for additional loan facilities $800 million to be secured from World Bank for the national social safety net programme,” Tinubu wrote, not making any different request from what Buhari had asked for but turned down by his rubber-stamp 9th Senate.

However, in the absence of an standing committee, the Senate referred the request to the Committee of the Whole.

Senate having suspended its rule 78 (1) read the bill for the second and thereafter having engaged in clause-by’clause consideration of the request in a jiffy, passed the bill.

Summary of the amended 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act now includes: N500 billion for palliatives and other capital expenditure to cushion the effect of recent subsidy removal policy; N185.2 billion to Ministry of Works and Housing to alleviate the impact of the severe flooding experienced in the country in 2022 on road infrastructure across the six geopolitical zones; N19.2 billion to Federal Ministry of Agriculture to ameliorate the massive destruction to farmlands across the country during the severe flooding experienced last year.

Members of the public have no bones about all the above listed, except that it did not contain details of the implementation which is where they feared corruption could creep in.

Other amendments to the Budget arising therefrom were: N35 billion to National Judicial Council.

Members of the public wondered what NJC as an institution has to do with palliatives, except it is meant to bribe the Judges there to pervert justice and delay issues they ought to have handled expeditiously.

Another N10 billion was set aside for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) for critical projects, and N70 billion to National Assembly to support the working conditions of new members.

The mention of the NASS infuriated Nigerians the more. They wondered what the Federal lawmakers need in the form of palliative, saying it was just mere bribery and stealing of public funds, through a legitimate process.

Armed with these facts, Nigerians described both the presidency and the legislators as extremely selfish and unpatriotic.

They wondered why people who are already too wealthy should be considering themselves for palliatives, pointing out that it is worse than any crime to be committed by an ordinary Nigerian.

Alhaji Tsoho, who runs an auto mart in Gwarimpa, Abuja, asked “how much will those in the presidency and the National Assembly put into their pockets before they get satisfied? I never knew that with the retirement of some oldies who had held Nigeria hostage all the while, the mixture of people of different backgrounds we now have at the National Assembly will approve a brazen stealing of our national resources with themselves being partakers.

“What this means is that the Nigerian politics breeds only criminals and unpatriotic people. How could the presidency even have contemplated such and how come all those people in the National Assembly approved this kind of open stealing?”

Omolola Abimbola, a civil servant wondered why politicians only think about themselves all the time. 

“I never knew that with all the experiences President Tinubu had and the criticisms he faced during the #EndSARS protests, he will ever contemplate to seek approval something that is obviously stealing on its face value.

“What it all means is that nothing had been learnt. Does it mean we don’t have any light at the end of the tunnel? No wonder elections have remained a do-or-die affair after former President Olusegun Obasanjo entrenched such heist on Nigeria”.

Adoyi Babagana, a business man, wondered why the Tinubu administration never taught about setting up institutions like improving our health facilities, facilities at our public universities, repair of roads, building new refineries or supporting people to do so or fixing the old ones we have as immediate and lasting palliative.

“This money they want to share, what will that fetch us? Money put in private pockets using legal means to steal? How does that affect the ordinary person in the streets or poor civil servants?

“They are not talking of addressing ASUU demands, NUT demands, doctors and other health workers demands? But they do all these because NLC and TUC prefer to chase shadows rather than embark on strike if they propose this kind of stealing. Are those Labour unions really working in the interest of the workers or they are so daft?”

Chief Emeka Akaigwe, an entrepreneur wonders why both those controlling the executive and legislative arms of government are so incentive and myopic and thinks about themselves all the time.

“I was waiting to hear them slash their salaries and allowances, only to hear this proposal to share national resources among themselves. It is a pity, but our problems are not ending any soon,” he stated.

Other people who spoke on the streets outrightly condemned the idea behind the palliatives and called on the National Assembly to rescind the approval in orde to redeem their battered integrity.