President Bola Tinubu’s plan to give cash transfers of N8,000 to 12 million poor households for six months as a government palliative to ease the effects of the nation’s recent removal of the fuel subsidy has been put on hold due to widespread opposition.
The proposal was met with a number of objections from Nigerians who saw it as unnecessary and a waste of money because the funds were insufficient to have any significant impact and because accountability for reaching the poorest households could not be ensured.
Dele Alake, his spokesman, said in a statement on Tuesday night that Tinubu had ordered the proposal to be “reviewed” after Nigerians had rejected the policy.
Alake claimed that despite the Tinubu administration’s belief in the adage “when there is prohibition, there must be provision,” “a lot of ill-informed imputations have been read into the programme by not a few naysayers.”
As a result, Alake declared that Tinubu had commanded an immediate review of the N8,000 conditional cash transfer programme, which was intended to help the most vulnerable households. This is in remembrance of the opposition from Nigerians.
“That Nigerians be made aware of the full scope of the government’s palliative package.”
“You will agree with me that it has become part of the culture of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to constantly dialogue with Nigerians who voted him into office,” the full text of his statement reads.
“The President made a promise to Nigerians that their security and well-being would come first in his government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Over the past few days, news reports about the government’s plans to start conditional cash transfers to vulnerable households—primarily those affected by the difficult but necessary decision to remove petrol subsidies—have flooded both traditional and new media platforms.
As a government palliative to lessen the discomfort being felt by Nigerians as a result of the removal of subsidies, the Federal Government is proposing to give 12 million households from the poorest of the poor N8,000 monthly for a period of six months.
Not a few sceptics have read a lot of inaccurate imputations into the programme. The Administration adheres to the adage that whenever there is a prohibition, a provision must follow.
“Since subsidy, the hydra-headed monster that threatened to destroy the economy, was stopped, the government has put in place a wide range of relief measures to assist Nigerians.
While it should be noted that the cash programme is not the only component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s comprehensive package of relief measures, the President has directed the following as a listening leader who has vowed to always put Nigerians at the centre of his policy and programme:-
The N8,000 conditional cash transfer programme, which is intended to help the most vulnerable households, needs to be reviewed right away. This is in remembrance of the opposition from Nigerians.
Nigerians should be given access to the full range of government relief measures.
Release of grains and fertilisers right away to about 50 million households and farmers in the 36 states and the FCT, respectively.The President also gives the Nigerian people assurances that the N500 billion approved by parliament to ease the suffering brought on by the end of the subsidy regime will be wisely used. Nigerians will receive the reliefs, regardless of their ancestry, religion, or political views.
“President Bola Tinubu has pledged to always put the welfare of Nigerians first, and he is firmly committed to this commitment. This administration’s decisions thus far have supported this position in a number of ways.
You may remember that the President made a decision along these lines after hearing complaints from the business community and other stakeholders about onerous taxes, particularly the multiplicity of taxes they are forced to pay. This called for the issuance of four (4) Executive Orders suspending the effective dates of some tax classes while cancelling others.
The President has also established a Tax Reform/Fiscal Policy Committee to make recommendations that will create a stable fiscal environment for the nation and eliminate barriers to business.
“I want to reassure Nigerians that President Tinubu will keep being a leader who listens and whose ears won’t be closed to the opinions expressed by the populace. The President has made it abundantly clear that he believes that the purpose of government is to serve the needs of the people.
