Special to USAfrica magazine (Houston) and USAfricaonline.com, the first Africa-owned, US-based newspaper published on the Internet.
The Campaign for Equal Rights and Opportunities for all Nigerians, CERON, has characterized the proposal by Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu for N8,000 monthly (for six months) palliative for 12million poor Nigerian households as a mockery of the poor. CERON said it is “a paltry N48,000 which is worth almost nothing in the present day Nigeria.”
Financially poor Nigerians continue to face the most difficult consequences of Tinubu’s decision to remove fuel subsidy.
CERON’s Executive Secretary, Francis Odiir, suggested that “The government can opt for other forms of palliative other than cash, that would impact the goods and services that directly affect the lives of the ordinary citizens because the proposed N8,000 is not only too meagre, it amounts to a mockery of the poor.But if the government insists on giving out cash, then it should be looking at the equivalent of at least a minimum of $150 monthly for the said beneficiaries.”
He stated that “If the government cannot do that for the suffering masses then there is no need for that gesture which we all know will not add any kind of value to the living condition of the suffering masses.“So we advise President Bola Tinubu to sit down with his team of economic advisers and take a critical look at what could be the ideal sharing formula or the best way to impact the lives of the people with the fund because most Nigerians have all expressed disgust at the proposed N8,000 which does not make any economic sense.”
