IT would appear that the 36 governors of the federation have not got the message from the populace that the cash transfer policy is not a credible and acceptable system of cushioning the effects of petrol subsidy removal.
After President Bola Tinubu wisely backtracked from his earlier intention to share N500 billion to 12 million households (N8,000 per month for six months), he asked the National Economic Council, NEC, to explore the palliative package that would serve the people better. The NEC is a constitutional body made up of the 36 governors, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and others, and chaired by the Vice President.
The body, unfortunately, approached their assignment with the poor mindset of going back to the discredited cash transfer system. They condemned former President Muhammadu Buhari’s social register based on which a highly corrupt cash distribution programme was conducted. In its place, the NEC recommended that the states should work out their respective social registers for cash distribution.
The usual “feeding bottle” mentality was obviously at work. The NEC is constitutionally intended to be a platform where the states and the Federal Government come on the same page in creating economic policies and programmes for growth and to the benefit of all Nigerians. The governors only saw another opportunity to share the N500 billion rather than coming up with ideas to create wealth with it.
We vehemently reject the NEC’s proposal and urge President Tinubu to discard it. It is even worse than Tinubu’s original idea of sharing cash to 12 million homes out of about 220 million Nigerians who are reeling from the triple effects of skyrocketing cost of fuel, devaluation of the naira and worsening epileptic power supply.
Sharing the money among the governors will never allow it to get to the intended “vulnerable” Nigerians. In any case, who has not been rendered vulnerable by the harsh economic policies?
We insist that this and any other fund secured for cushioning the effects of these policies must benefit all Nigerians, not some politicians, party members and cronies.
It must be deployed to create wealth at all levels and grow the economy. It must be allocated to crucial infrastructural upgrades, promote cheaper mass transit schemes, massive investment in agriculture and credit schemes for productive activities and trading.
The money must be used to subsidise local refining of petroleum products by the refineries about to open for business, to make the products cheaper.
We have nothing against cash support of the vulnerable. We must put the horse before the cart by first of all creating the wealth which can be disbursed on a sustainable welfare scheme. Secondly, we must sanitise the social register so that the benefits will go to those who need them.
Suspend cash transfer indefinitely!
