From Jude Owuamanam, Jos
Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has said that contrary to the notion that the the N5 billion palliative promised by the Federal Government is free, it’s actually repayable.
Mutfwang, speaking during an interface with Plateau elders in Jos on Monday, explained that though the N5 billion was given in principle to provide succor to the poorest of the poor and to mitigate the hardship in the country, it’s not a free lunch.
The governor stated that he has so far received the sum of N2 billion of the total amount, adding that the N5 billion palliatives have a 52 percent drive component while the remaining 48 percent is a loan component that must be repaid.
He said, “The federal government allocated N5 billion in palliatives to each state of the federation; the money was in principle given to every state for the purpose of giving palliatives to the poorest of the poor. We have so far received N2 billion; the N5 billion has a 52 percent drive component, while 48 percent is a loan component that must be repaid.
“So it is not a free lunch; we were allocated 3,000 bags of rice for the whole state. We were mandated to use N1 billion of the N5 billion to buy rice locally. The intention of the federal government is that the N1 billion should not be given to one contractor; we must share it around so that money can circulate in the local economy.
“And I like to pledge and give you my pledge of honor that not a single kobo of this N5 billion will be misused. Already, we have shared the rice with various local governments, and this will be further distributed.
Mutfwang said that the state government will complement the efforts of federal government’s to ensure that citizens of the state did not suffer adversely from the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.
To this end, the governor said that farmers and students will get a fair deal from his government on terms of getting fertilizers at subsidised rates and bursaries for students.