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FG’s Relief Materials Insufficient – Recipients • Unknown Formula of Administration, Potential Mismanagement Worrisome – BudgIT
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State Governors Will Misappropriate Relief Monies Meant For Vulnerable People – HURIWA
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Kano, Imo, Katsina, Edo, Others Yet to Commence Distribution
Again, Anxiety Over Potential Increase of Fuel Price as Naira Falls to N915 – $1
By AMOS ESELE with SAM DIALA, UKANDI ODEY, GEORGE MARTINS, CHIBUEZW CHUKWUMA, BASSEY ANIEKAN, ABDULLAHI YUSUF, SEGUN AYINDE AND SAMPSON UHUEGBU
Many of the 133 million multidimensionally poor, hungry and angry Nigerians are trooping to palliative distribution centres in many states across the federation in search for a lifeline amid a debt-trap economy wracked by high inflationary and forex pressures and returning home with unpalatable stories.
The hope for some form of improvement in the people’s harsh conditions, following the cost of living crisis occasioned by the sudden withdrawal of the subsidy on the pump price of petrol, 87 grinding days ago, is evaporating as many are realising that what looked as big remedies when they were announced by the Federal Government is turning out to be a mere drop in the ocean of their needs.
More complicated is the haunting feeling and uncertainty about another increase on pump price of fuel from its current average of N600 to either N700 or N750 as marketers rue the discouraging high exchange rate that will erode any profit gained from importing petrol, which may force government to adopt some form of subsidy to encourage import and help it to keep the promise to maintain the price regime.
In one telling case, a community leader in Ilorin West, Kwara State drew harsh words and disapproval from his people who gathered to hear his story on his return from a palliative distribution centre. According to him, at the centre where they were told that the Federal Government allocated 1,200 bags of rice to the state, 18 bags will go to each local government. The man’s Ilorin West Senatorial District, comprising 12 wards, received eight bags, while three communities within it, including his own, shared half a bag of rice.
In a dramatic fashion, he lifted the quarter bag of rice and dropped it in the middle of the gathering. A babel went up with some drawing their phone cameras to take a shot of what they derided as a mockery of their poverty and began to share on social media.
“Acts like this will not establish who received what, thereby defeating the purpose of transparency and accountability,” the Acting Head of Open Government and Institutional Partnership, BudgIT, Iyanuoluwa Bolarinwa, said at the weekend. “What is worrisome is the absence of a detailed guideline on how state governments will distribute these resources. There are mixed reactions nationwide over the potential mismanagement or unequal distribution of these palliatives. Without a comprehensive framework, the risk of these resources not reaching the most vulnerable of society is high.”
Explaining further, the Communication Associate of BudgIT, Nancy Odimegwu, told THEWILL on Friday that the organisation directed its state coordinators to monitor the exercise so as to see if transparency and accountability are upheld during the distribution of the palliatives.
“Given the COVID-19 experience when palliatives were hoarded in warehouses in many states, it is essential that the cash and materials meant for the people get them.”
The National Coordinator of Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, is worried about the basic statistics applied in determining the amount of money allocated to each state of the federation and why every state should pick up equal amounts of cash, “Or is it the number of poor Nigerians that are equitably distributed to the 36 states and the FCT?”
Speaking to THEWILL on Friday, Onwubiko described the methodology as archaic, unworkable and at best, mere guesswork that “this administration has just done by unscientifically drawing a jaundiced conclusion that there are equal numbers of poor people in all the states of the federation, including the FCT.
He thinks that, like BudgIT in the absence of a clear, definable method of administration, the fund and materials the Federal Government gave to the states for palliatives would end up in the pockets of many state governors. “So, what has changed about these corrupt-minded governors, who would rather buy exotic multimillion-dollar worth official cars than pay their workers their due wages?
“It is, therefore, safe to conclude that the act of passing this huge cash through the governors is simply meant to placate some political friends of the President and the entire packages to these states are collectively a charade that will not in any way substantially serve as palliatives to the poor Nigerians suffering the crushing effects of the plan less and irrational withdrawal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria.”
According to the Federal Government which a fortnight ago approved N5 billion each as palliatives to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to cushion the impact of the petrol subsidy removal, 52 per cent of the funds are given as grants to the state governments, while the remaining 48 per cent will be issued as loans.In addition to the N5 billion relief fund, the Federal Government released five trucks of rice to each of the 36 state governors. The state governors are to complement this effort with 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize and fertilizers.
While some states have commenced the distribution of the palliatives as received, either in tranches or in full, many are yet to start at all, heightening anxiety and uncertainty among the expectant people.
A cross-section of residents in the Calabar Metropolis have faulted the modalities adopted for the distribution of palliatives in the state.
In a survey conducted by THEWILL, the residents said the modalities for the distribution are hazy and this can potentially place a large segment of the state in a disadvantaged position.
Other residents also stressed that rather than distribute palliatives, the funds should have been credited to the accounts of beneficiaries.
They maintained that adopting the same failed system of distribution used by the last administration was wrong and may contribute to killing the palliative project.
That is why, for instance, a trader like Nyong Effiom, would say he is unaware of the distribution of any palliative.
He said that he was hearing from the reporter for the first time that palliatives would be distributed.
“I heard that the federal government has released N5 billion naira to each state alongside foodstuffs.
“I am not aware of any distribution and no one either in our market union, church or neighbourhood has notified me.
“I am still waiting to hear when the palliative in the state will be distributed and please kindly inform me if you know, kindly inform me,” he said.
Also speaking, a student of the University of Calabar, Kerry Asuquo, said the palliative distribution has always been to the disadvantage of people.
He maintained that he has no knowledge of any palliative, particularly as it borders on the welfare of students.
“To me, I’m not aware of the distribution of any palliative. Students, particularly the off-campus ones are hardest hit by this subsidy removal and palliative should accommodate people in this segment,” Asuquo said.
Also, a worker in the state, Atim Mbe, said the archaic method of distributing rice and toiletries to people should be discarded because it is corruption prone and has failed.
While flagging –off the distribution of palliatives, the state governor, Bassey Otu, said the distribution will move to the Central and Northern parts of the state but details about the distribution and the modalities are still sketchy.
UNICAL student, Asuquo, suggested that palliatives should target specific segments of the society that are largely impacted by the subsidy removal.
“For instance, the government can procure buses that will only take specific routes so as to reduce the high cost of transportation to schools,” he said.
He said the government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria. had the Bank Verification Number of all its citizens and should deploy it for the distribution of benefits to its citizens.
He said anything short of this amounts to a disservice by the government to the citizens and will cast serious doubts on the integrity of government at both federal and state levels.
Olabanjo Adisa, an Ogun civil servant, suggested that for the palliative to get to the downtrodden, the local government councils must be involved because he thinks some of the governors are playing politics with distribution. Local government councils are closer to the grassroots so that the people can have the dividends of democracy and their own share of the palliatives.
A youth leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Ogun State, Oyejide Sukanmi, said that what Nigerians, especially the people of Ogun State, need now is a kind of arrangement in the transportation and agriculture sectors, whereby food would be abundant at affordable prices.
Giving people N8,000 or N10,000 or a bag of rice for a community that has about 200,000 houses, Sunkanmi argued, is ridiculous.
“There is no reliable data base for the people in the state and the palliative of getting to the right set of people, those in the villages, the locals, the bankers and so on. Those in the rural areas have always been neglected and I know,” he said.
At a meeting with the Plateau Elders Forum during the week, Governor Caleb Mutfwang announced that the state is in receipt of N2 billion out of the N5 billion promised by the Federal Government. He said the state also has 100 bags of rice as part of the palliative package.
Promising that the state government was to ensure transparency in the administration of the palliatives, Mutfwang said that not one Kobo or grain will be wasted or used for other purposes than the welfare of Plateau people.
He said the two billion naira at hand is to be used to engage as many local contractors as possible to purchase more locally produced rice and other grains from local farmers to boost the money in circulation.
However, a cross section of residents in the state are apprehensive, describing the palliatives regime as “so-called”, and a mere fluke or, at best a flash in the pan.
With an estimated population of about 4.5 million people, many argue that there is no known formula that can get the palliatives to every affected household, noting that the entire package is too small to make the desired impact. Some others feel that the policy is doomed, and beset by fraud, that would have rather been channelled to repairs of the nation’s moribund petroleum refineries and restoration of partial subsidy for petroleum products to retard the inflationary trend in the economy.
It is a preponderant opinion of the majority of people here that the palliative option cannot really address the pains and distortions already grinding the national economy.
A cross-section of Benue residents have commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the release of N5 billion to cushion the effect of subsidy removal for people of the North central state.
However, a Makurdi -based businessman, Elder Joseph Mnenga, noted that the N5 billion had fallen short of expectations in a state like Benue with a population of over 6 million inhabitants.
According to him, even though the state government has already rolled out plans to distribute the palliatives, it would have been better if traditional rulers were involved to identify the less privileged in various communities in their domains to benefit from the gesture.
In her response, a retired schoolteacher, Mrs Akpa M.T, decried the amount, advising the Federal Government to consider the N5 billion as a first phase, noting that the suffering will stay with the people for a long period.
THEWILL recalls that Governor Hyacinth Alia has acknowledged the receipt of N2 billion out of the N5 billion approved for Benue State to cushion the effect of subsidy removal on the citizens.
He made the disclosure during the flag-off of the distribution of relief materials to victims of the 2022 flood in Makurdi last week, saying the balance of N3 billion is expected.
The governor disclosed that his government will use the funds to register students for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Education Council (NECO) examinations in all government approved secondary schools in the state for the 2023/2024 academic year.
He will further provide intensive computer and ICT training for 2,000 youths of the state to enable them acquire jobs within and outside the state.
According to him, the government will also provide grants to 5,000 women in the state based on revised social register of the women cooperatives as well as purchase one hundred new buses for the state-owned transport company – Benue Links to provide services to the people of the state at a subsidised rate.
Moreover, government will provide shuttle buses in the three major towns of Makurdi, Gboko, and Otukpo to ease movement within the towns, pay one month pension arrears to state and local government retirees and provide food items like rice in large quantity to each of the 23 Local Government Areas in the state.
Many of the states in the South-East geopolitical zone have virtually been under economic hostage by the sit-at-home order by elements of the proscribed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, to the tune of N4 trillion in two years, according to the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Ben Kalu.
Governor of the state, Peter Mbah, has inaugurated a committee on palliatives. According to him, the question now is how to mitigate the shared pains that the people of the state are going to be exposed to.
Stressing that the administration is set to roll out palliatives to mitigate the harsh economic effects of the recent removal of fuel subsidy on residents of the state, Mbah, while inaugurating a committee for the procurement, storage and distribution of the relief items to the public, said that members of the committee, chaired by the Deputy Governor, Ifeanyi Ossai, would handle the palliatives with transparency and ensure the speedy distribution of the items to those in dire need of them.
He expressed hope that the palliatives would help to alleviate the economic hardship on the people of the state and urged the committee to ensure that the palliatives were sent to the “homes of those that need them the most in the state.”
“It is part of what we are doing to see how we can begin to cushion the effects of some of these pains. So, what we are doing now is to see how to fix the pains the people are going through and there are also plans for short and medium-term solutions. We are going to do that in due course,” he stated.
For the lawmaker representing Enugu West Senatorial District, Senator Osita Ngwu, Governor Mbah has risen to the occasion of the adverse effects of the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government, adding that the committee was capable of “carrying out their task which deals with procurement, storage and distribution of the relief items to the citizens.”
The distribution of palliatives to vulnerable people to cushion the effects of the removal of subsidy on petrol is yet to commence in Kano State, more than a week after the kick-off of the project,THEWILL can confirm authoritatively. Checks through the ancient city of Kano reveal that people are still waiting for the palliatives as poverty and hunger continue to bite harder among the people.
“I have heard the Federal Government announcement that they have released N5 billion and five trucks of rice to each of the 36 states of the federation for distribution to poor people like me as palliatives, but honestly, I am yet to receive the rice or any palliative, for that matter,” said Isiyaku Nura, a retired civil servant.
Another resident of the state capital, a widow, Talatu Ibrahim, who also welcomed the announcement of the federal allocation to the state as a welcome relief, wants the state government to commence distribution of the palliatives.
“Let them begin distribution of the rice and any other palliatives, please, so that people like me can access them and have some relief from the poverty and hunger ravaging us,” Ibrahim said.
But Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf had last Wednesday said that modalities had been mapped out to ensure that the rice and other palliatives reached the vulnerable people in the state.
Yusuf, who gave the assurance while speaking with newsmen at the Government House, Kano, however appealed to the Federal Government to allocate more palliatives to Kano, being the state with the biggest population in the country, arguing that the allocation will not go far in bringing relief to many citizens there.
The governor said his administration was highly disturbed by the hardships being faced by the people of the state as a result of the removal of the fuel subsidy.
Yusuf disclosed that already his administration had spent about N1.6 billion on the purchase of millet, maize and rice for distribution to the people of the state.
He said this was in addition to the five trucks of rice donated by the Federal Government to the State.
He also announced that the state government was working out a plan to provide cows, sheep and goats to empower women, especially those in the rural areas for self -reliance and economic prosperity.
A civil servant in Ogun State, Tunde Opayemi, stated that he had not seen or received any palliative, whether in financial or material form, except the N10,000 the state government is giving to the state civil servants monthly.
According to Governor Dapo Abiodun, the monthly stipend will only last for three months.
“How will N10,000 palliative meet the expectations of the workers or people of the state in this present economic situation in which a bag of rice is above N50,000 now, something we used to buy for N23,000 before the subsidy removal?” Opayemi asked, adding, “I think the expectations of many Nigerians is that that palliative money should have been used to repair our oil refineries. What will N10,0000 added to a civil servant salary to a family of seven do? But with functional refineries these problems will come to the nearest minimum.”
Imo State governor, Sen. Hope Uzodimma, is yet to talk about palliative distribution though the citizens are aware of the Federal Government plan on palliative measures to the state.
A civil servant, who gave her name as Louis Nwachukwu, said the money the Federal Government shared to the states in the name of palliatives should have been injected into the various refineries across the country.
“To me, N5 billion is too small to be given to a state by the Federal Government as palliatives. To do what? How far can that money go?” she asked.
A commercial bus driver, Chikanele Ogu, knocked the Federal Government for not being sensitive to the plight of Nigerians who are wallowing in poverty.
“The removal of the fuel subsidy is the cause of the hard times we are in today. Prices of goods and services had risen due to this development. We need a bigger intervention,” Ogu said.
In Katsina State, the governor, Dikko Radda, has given assurances that the “poorest of the poor” in the state is the target of palliative distribution, saying to make that pledge come true, the distribution of the palliatives would be handled by political leaders at the state, local government council and ward levels.
Radda, who said the state was yet to get its allocation from the federal government disclosed that 34 local government councils would purchase 36,100 bags of maize each, using their monthly allocations from the Federation Account while the state government would also order extra consignments of rice, maize and fertiliser from the Federal Government for distribution to citizens and farmers.
Head of the Palliative Distribution Committee and Commissioner for Agriculture in Ekiti State, Ebenezer Boluwade, said the state government has distributed a total of 3,000 bags of rice it received from the Federal Government, particularly to vulnerable citizens on the list of beneficiaries agreed to by the committee.
According to him, “Each of the 177 wards of the state will get 10 bags of rice each. Parts of the criteria are that we must prioritise widows and women in the wards. What we are saying is that the rice going to the wards should be shared more with women and widows. We also specially allocated 100 bags for widows.
“All the artisans in the private sector shared 200 bags of rice, while the transport unions got 180 bags. All the market women in Ekiti State were allocated 100 bags. Persons with disabilities got 150 bags.
“The elderly, that is pensioners, got 100 bags. Civil servants comprising the junior staff members got 100 bags,” he said.
Evidence from two Local Governments in Lagos State, Shomolu and Oshodi/Isolo, where palliative distribution has kicked-off shows chaotic scenes as a result of an overwhelming crowd.
Despite the personal involvement of the Chairman of Somolu Local Council, Abdul Hamed Salawu, in distribution of subsidy palliatives in the council last weekend, the crowd that gathered at the Agunbiade Primary School in Shomolu Local Council Area to receive subsidy palliatives, were uncontrollable as they scramble for the packaged rice, beans and garri.
A council staff member who pleaded anonymity said the LGA received 3,000 bags of assorted foodstuff which was insufficient for distribution.
In Oshodi/Isolo, beneficiaries who got a small package branded containing a small bottle of oil, 5 kilograms of rice and another of beans made a video mocking the content and duration of the palliative.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had earlier implemented some relief measures for civil servants in the state in form of wage increase across boards as well as healthcare incentives and waivers for maternal and child care services government hospitals across the state.
Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State, at a press briefing, said, “We are targeting about one million and fifty thousand poor and vulnerable citizens, representing 210,000 households. The Federal Government promised to give the state N5 billion, but as of today, N2billion has been given to Kaduna State and that is what we are using right now to ensure that we come up with something for the poor, underserved and vulnerable in our state who have been suffering the removal of the fuel subsidy.
The Deputy Governor, Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, heads the committee on palliative distribution, comprising the labour unions, market women, people with disabilities represented.
“We have agreed and decided to buy 43,000 bags of 50kg rice. The N65 million balance will be used to support the logistics of People with Disabilities, the Widows and the IDPs that live in the Internally Displaced Camps in Kaduna,” the governor said.
Meanwhile, two governors have called for a reappraisal of the palliative scheme, though from different perspectives. They are Governor Mohammed Bago of Niger State and Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state.
While Governor Bago, stated that the Federal Government’s palliative cannot address the hardship imposed on Nigerians by the removal of fuel subsidy and suggested massive investment in agriculture to address the food needs of millions of Nigerians on the verge of starvation, Governor Obaseki said the concept adopted by the federal government is wrong and would yield nothing
Governor Bago, who commended President Tinubu for the palliative initiative during the flag-off of the distribution of farm inputs to wet season farmers from the 25 local government areas of the state, said, “But we must be honest with ourselves; the palliative scheme cannot be sustained, we have to go back to the farm to reinflate our economy. In Niger State, we are poised to make agriculture become the focus of our administration in addressing poverty and food security.”
Godwin Obaseki, whose state is yet to receive the N5 billion from the federal government as palliatives, said, among other things, that “Now the subsidy is gone; the exchange rate is being aligned. The era of free money has almost come to an end. The consequence is that the weakest and most vulnerable in our society, unfortunately, will carry a huge part of the burden of these policies.”
“I am shocked that people who campaigned around the country, saying they will remove subsidies, had no clear plans on what to do after subsidy removal. They don’t know what to do and how to support those who will be victims of subsidy removal.
“I am shocked and scared of what we are passing through today, where the government doesn’t seem to have a plan or solution on how to respond to the consequences of the policy measure put in place by their administration.”
In his reaction, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said all state governors and global institutions and economic experts agreed that the fuel subsidy had to go because of the fiscal distortions and burden it has placed on the economy.
“For perspective, Edo State, under Governor Obaseki’s leadership, has notably benefited from the fuel subsidy removal, which is evident in the more than doubling of the FAAC allocation between June and July 2023 to Edo State – more than it had ever received pre-fuel subsidy removal.”
Senator Smart Adeyemi said on Friday that Nigerians should give President Tinubu time to work out the challenges bedeviling the economy. According to him, the President’s goal is long term and the pains following some of the policy decisions are short-term.
“As a member of the appropriation committee in the Senate, I know that 90 per cent of our resources were used for the payment of debts and Nigeria was almost going to collapse by June, 2023. The President has said he understands our pains and he would take alternative measures to cushion our pains. That is part of the palliative measures that are ongoing now. In essence, he is aware Nigerians are going through pains. Subsidy is gone and we have to manage the resources we have effectively in order to improve the social- economic fortunes of the country. Today, governors are getting more than what they were receiving before as statutory allocations, so they have to deploy the resources judiciously,” Adeyemi told THEWILL.
For the BudgIT group, the federal and state authorities should “provide and publicise” a comprehensive sharing formula and breakdown of how the palliatives will be shared among citizens to ensure equitable access and accountability.
“Enhance transparency by openly communicating their strategies for utilising and distributing the funds and resources allocated. Collaborate with independent organisations to establish monitoring measures that the public can access.
.“The well-being of Nigerians during these challenging times should remain a top priority. BudgIT believes a transparent and inclusive approach to palliative distribution and resource management is crucial to fostering public trust and achieving this initiative’s desired impact on the citizens,“ BudgIT’s official, Bolarinwa, added.
Amos Esele is the Acting Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
