By Olugbenga Salami
Leaders of major ethnic groups in the country, have hailed the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abass Tajudeen, and his deputy, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, for mobilising lawmakers to consider and approve President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s subsidy removal palliative.
The House of Representatives had at the plenary last week granted approval to President Tinubu’s request for N500billion for fuel subsidy palliative for poor Nigerians.
The socio-cultural group comprising of Ohanaeze Youth Movement, South-South Apex Youth Movement and Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, at a press conference in Abuja, addressed by their leaders, Odoemena Alexander, Patrick Obieri, and Ojukwu Celestine, praised the lawmakers for approving the request, saying that it’s in the interest of all citizens.
Speaking on behalf of the groups, Ernest Njesi and Obioha C. recalled that last month following the announcement by the President that subsidy has been removed, the lawmakers urged him to, as a matter of urgency, implement palliative measures to mitigate the effects of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerian citizens.
The groups noted that the President understanding the untold hardship being faced by Nigerians, subsequently requested to amend the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act so as to extract N500 billion from the budget to be expended on fuel subsidy palliatives.
Praising Abbas and Kalu for the speedy consideration and approval of the request, they urged the duo to ensure that the money is expended for what it’s meant for and not diverted and stolen by some greedy fellows.
“On Monday, 29 May, 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his inaugural speech, announced the removal of Nigeria’s fuel subsidy. As a result of the subsidy removal, the official pump price of petrol skyrocketed from the initial N195 per litre to a whopping N480–N577 per litre as the prices varied between States. The sudden fuel subsidy removal has left millions of Nigerians terrified, thus causing untold hardship.
“As weeks went by an average Nigerian finds it really had to cope with the challenges of meeting up with, not only the high cost of petrol but also the consequent increase in the prices of goods and services. We highly commend, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abass Tajudeen and Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu for mobilising lawmakers to consider and approve President Bola Ahmed Tinubu subsidy removal palliative.
“This shows that the federal government and the parliament are concerned about the needs and the welfare of the people. We however appeal to the lawmakers to ensure that the money is used well for what it is meant for and not hijacked by some greedy fellows,” they stressed.
