Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) President, Joe Ajaero, has voiced dissatisfaction with the N5 billion allocated to each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as a measure to mitigate the effects of fuel subsidy removal, deeming it insufficient to make a meaningful impact on the populace.
During an appearance on Channels Television’s “Politics Today” show on Friday, Ajaero expressed concerns that, upon calculation, the N5 billion allocation wouldn’t even amount to N1,500 per individual.
He also raised questions about the nature of the funds, highlighting the lack of clarity whether the money is designated as a loan, a state-level palliative, or a support measure for all Nigerians.
“But whichever might be the case, let’s assume that it is palliative; you would agree that it is difficult to feel the impact of such an amount at a time like this.
“The [National] Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has come out to say that over 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor. You start to wonder about the impact of N185 billion to 133 million people by their admittance.
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“And from the time this report was released and now, in fact, the first increase in the pump price of petroleum products and the last one, moved a lot of people from the borderline to a very high level of poverty.
“Now if you calculate it, you will discover that this will not translate to N1,500 per person and you ask: is that the impact? Is that really what we want to achieve? Let’s assume it’s a loan. What is really going to happen? Is it garbage in, garbage out?
“If it is N5 billion, I think the organised labour would want anybody to do the calculation and tell us how it is going to impact Nigerians on what is happening currently. If it is a loan then it is too bad,” the NLC President said.
Following the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held on Thursday, Governor Babagana Zulum shared that state governors have devised plans to allocate a portion of the funds from the Federal Government towards the acquisition of essential commodities. These include 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize, and fertilizers.
Governor Zulum emphasized that 52 percent of the allocated funds are granted to state governments, while the remaining 48 percent is designated as loans.