…Cash Transfer policy is a Scam, Says APC Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State
By Ayo Kehinde
Benin- City, the Edo State capital came under wide protest over the hardship occasioned by the sudden, unplanned removal of fuel subsidy by the government.
Organised by the Edo Civil Society Organisations, the protest went through through some major streets with protesters carry placards that condemned the increase and the high cost of governance in Nigeria.
The protesters made the point that the method of removing the subsidy without adequate palliative has inflicted suffering on the people who had barely recovered from the dislocation caused by pre- election Naira redesign policy amid penury.
Tinubu on his inauguration on May 29, had on a fit announced that subsidy was gone while his speech reflected his campaign position that subsidy would be removed in phases.
With placards bearing messages such as ” in less than two months, Tinubu government is choking Nigerians to death, “; ” Tinubu,let us breathe”,; “Kill Corruption, not Nigerians,”; ” FG, allow the poor to breathe,” ” Keep your palliatives, fix the refineries,” the protesters marched through major streets of Akpakpava, Mission Road that terminate at the central, Ring Road.
President of group, Comrade Austin Enabulele said the protest was intended to draw government’s attention to social and economic realities of it two- months policies.
According to him; ” We appreciate the President Tinubu has removed subsidy because they a were using it to steal from us but then before you do that, you do that you must put palliatives in place, you must ensure that the refineries are working even if it is two. They should be working so that we can buy fuel at affordable price on Nigeria.”.
On the N8000 cash transfer palliative, he said, “we don’t need the N8000 proposed palliative. He should keep it to himself. It s another way of stealing Nigerians money.
One of the protesters, Olu Martins, insisted that the Federal Government should have put the necessary palliatives in place before going ahead with the new policies, which according to him are taking their toll on Nigerians.
On his part, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, Blessing Agbebaku, who addressed the protesters at the house of assembly complex, called for patience, adding that he was on the same page with activists over the proposed palliatives.
Since the development, the price of the goods and services, particular transportation, food stuffs, school fees have skyrocketed in the face of increases in pump price of petrol twice by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, first on May 31 from N147 per liter to average N550 per liter and on July 18, N550 to N600-N700 across the country.
While the Federal Government says the move is in the best interest of the country, critics argue it will plunge the country into crisis.
Cash transfer A Scam
Meanwhile, Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State at the weekend described the proposed cash transfer policy of the federal government as a scam.
Speaking in an interview with Arise Television’s News, the Governor said, “My position has always been that, at this critical time, cash transfer should not be something that we should bring up, completely. I think that cash transfer for me, in my opinion, is a scam. Completely it’s a scam. I can be very certain about that, because who are you transferring the money to?
“Let me give an example, go and check the current statistics. Like I said, as the Chairman, Committee of Banking in the Senate for four years in Nigeria, I oversight Central Bank, I oversight all the commercial sector of our economy for the last four years and I look at the statistics, I will be very firm on this issue and you can go and check it.
“About 70 to 75 percent of the rural population in North West are financially excluded completely. You will have to go and check, these people we are talking about are important people in the society. They do not even have a bank account so who are you transferring the money to?
“Let’s try and work very hard to make sure that they are financially included, that is the most important thing and I will like to call on our development partners, the World Bank, to put more money towards bringing more people into the financial services and the vulnerable in particular.
