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The N180 billion that the Federal Government recently shared to the 36 states of the federation as palliative fund to ease the hardship caused by the removal of fuel subsidy is not what Nigeria needs this time. Granted that millions of Nigerians are currently suffering the effects of the fuel subsidy removal, especially the high cost of goods and services, the N5billion each state got amounts to a drop in the ocean. The money, which will come in tranches, is meant for each state to procure 100,000 bags of rice, 40, 000 bags of maize and fertilizers.
The fund is not even free as the states are meant to refund it. The formula, according to the Borno State governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, is that 52 per cent of the fund goes as grants to the states while 48 per cent will be paid back on installment basis to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) within 20 months. Any state not willing to refund the money is advised not to collect it as it is optional. The repayment amount is N120, 000,000 monthly. Some governors have reportedly kicked against this, saying since the money was meant for palliatives, it should not be refunded.
This exercise lacks serious planning. How, for instance, will the state governments determine the beneficiaries, considering that the Nigerian system does not have a reliable data? What is the rationale for sharing the palliatives equally to states? And why was there no consideration for the population of each state knowing that some states are bigger than others and have greater number of vulnerable people?
There is no significant difference between this programme and the previously announced arrangement where the Federal Government planned to give N8, 000 palliative per month to each of some indeterminate 12 million households. President Bola Tinubu had suspended the implementation of that proposed programme and called for its review after much criticism. It was to have run for six months which translated into N48, 000 per family for the six months. The Federal Government had got approval for a supplementary budget of N819 billion from the National Assembly to implement it. It also got approval for $800 million facility from the World Bank. Out of the approved supplementary budget, the sum of N500 billion was earmarked for palliatives for the 12 million households.
Preliminary reports on this current exercise show that people are afraid it may not be transparent. Already, there are allegations that some governors are hoarding the materials while citizens languish in hunger. This has drawn the ire of many Nigerians who fear that going through the governors to share the palliatives may bring in some political considerations into it.
Palliative is a stopgap measure. It is not sustainable. Besides, the N5 billion per state is grossly inadequate. It cannot go far in addressing the problem. Nigeria has over 133 million people who are multi-dimensionally poor. There is acute hunger in the country. Recently, in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, dozens of hungry residents invaded a private warehouse where some palliatives were stored since 2022 and looted them. Media reports indicated that the Bayelsa State Government used the facility to store the palliatives made up of foodstuff like rice, garri, cartons of noodles and some other materials which some good Nigerians donated to the state during the 2022 flood disaster. Some of the foodstuff were said to have expired.
Generally, cost of living is very high. There is soaring inflation which currently stands at 24.08 per cent, the highest in 18 years. Food inflation is even higher. Fuel sells for about N600 or more per litre in many places. It was about N185 per litre before the inauguration of Tinubu as president on May 29, 2023. There is no way this palliative fund will solve the problem it is meant to address. We suspect that some of it may get into wrong hands. The whole exercise is shambolic and not well thought-out.
Government should go back to the drawing board and come up with something that is realistic, sustainable and transparent. The alleged corrupt practices that trailed the sharing of COVID-19 palliatives in 2020 as well as the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) of the Muhammadu Buhari government should be completely avoided.
Government should also ensure the workability of the refineries. This is one major way the high cost of petroleum products will come down. We can’t continue to import fuel and expect to reap higher dividends of democracy.
As we advised in an earlier editorial on this issue, government should think more of sustainable programmes that will empower Nigerians rather than these ad hoc measures. If there is efficient transportation system that will reduce the cost of transportation on the people; if there are more budgetary allocations to important sectors that have more impact on the majority of people like health, education and power, it will go a long way to empower people and consequently reduce hunger and poverty in the country.
