NAIJA NEWS
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), have reacted to the Federal Government’s N5 billion fuel subsidy removal palliative to state governments.
Naija News recalls that the Federal Government approved N5 billion for each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enable them to procure food items for distribution to the poor in their respective states.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State disclosed this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.
In addition to the fund, Zulum said the Federal Government also released five trucks of rice each to the 36 state governors.
However, in their reaction to the move, organised labour has knocked the federal government, saying state governors could not be trusted, because politicians and not the poor would benefit from the N5 billion palliative.
While reacting, the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said the Federal Government was about sharing N2,000 and a cup of rice to poor people across the country.
He also stated that the governors could not be trusted, as most of them were not paying minimum wage.
Ajaero said, “N5bn multiplied by 36 states is going to give you N180bn. So if you divide that with the official figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, which says that 133 million Nigerians are multi-dimensionally poor, and calculate it, you will get about N2,000 each for those who are poor.
“That is the official statistics of the government, but you and I know that the actual figure is more than that. So is that what to celebrate? And then, five trucks or there about, of rice to a state. The poor people of these states cannot get one cup of rice. It will not go round.
“Even if you pick them from the poverty bracket, it will be difficult for them to get one cup of rice. Is that the best we can do? Is that the best approach to governance? So do we look at our people as people we should give one cup of rice…
