From Joe Effiong, Uyo
The federal government is toying with a proposal of increasing cash transfers to 12 million vulnerable Nigerians to cushion the effects of the current economic hardship the citizens are grappling with.
Minister of Finance the Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun who disclosed this in Uyo at a two-day retreat for management staff of the federal ministry of finance and heads of parastatals under the ministry, with the theme: “Achieving the 8 Presidential Priorities: The Role of the Ministry” noted that the transfers which was temporarily halted would soon return after necessary reviews and adjustments.
The minister said “Since May 29, the country has been set on a course of micro economic stability. The unsustainable, wasteful expenditures that benefitted just a few people at the cost of the majority have been done away.”
“So now the finances of the nation has been restored. The President has taken away from the few to give to the many. He has stopped expenditure on the few in favour of expenditure on the many. We are all familiar with how the trajectory has been.
“It is in those corrective action left undone, delayed and therefore the transformation to the right course don’t come without a cost.
“Mr President’s commitment is that cost should be borne by the most people and the poorest of the poor, the weak would be protected, that is why even at this time of highly elevated food prices, he has stepped in to intervene.”
He maintained that Nigeria remained on course towards economic stability pointing out that the present forex challenges and inflation were the inevitable effects of efforts to stabilise the economy.
“We are working hard to ensure that the finances of the nation which used to be in few hands at the detriment of other Nigerians is reversed. Such corrective actions are long overdue.” He said.
According to him, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the FG have been working in partnership in reducing and stabilising the exchange rate while over 60,000 metric tonnes of grains have been released to drive down the cost of food items.
Edun said the federal government remains committed to using financial engineering and increased revenue generation to fight the current inflation adding that a new method of direct payment of unconditional transfers to vulnerable Nigerians would ensure increased transparency and effectiveness.
He called for unity of purpose among all the MDAs responsible for the economy and expressed hope that the fight against economic instability and hardship would eventually be won.
In his goodwill message, Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, represented by his deputy, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, said the theme of the retreat shows the readiness of the ministry to play its role in the actualising the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Eno said aside the president, Nigerians look up to the minister and participants of the retreat to fix the economy, and called for the formulation of policies that will lead Nigerians back to agriculture, Information and Communication Technology and the utilisation of its abundant solid minerals resources for the diversification of the economy.
“Beyond the President, Nigerians look up to you to fix the economy, tame the spiralling inflation, restore the strength of the naira and stabilise the exchange rate, pull more citizens out of multidimensional poverty, recreate a vibrant middle class, make the nation less import dependent, among others. Your responsibility is enormous and critical.
“Akwa Ibom State will continue to play its role in national development because for the nation to be great, all citizens, units, segments, sections, sectors, institutions and governments must be alive to their responsibilities and consciously perform optimally. Nation building is a collective responsibility.
“In furtherance of this objective of holistic national development, this administration in Akwa Ibom State will continue its strategic investments in the aviation, maritime, tourism, education, healthcare, agriculture, rural development and other sectors through the ARISE Agenda,” he state