Nigerians have been alerted that the move by the Federal Government to share a whopping $800million from the World Bank loan to low-income Nigerians as palliatives for the removal of fuel subsidy, would not work to alleviate the sufferings of the poor, but would rather line the pockets of the rich.
This is the view of erudite scholar, lawyer and former Chairman of the National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi, as he weighed into the the move, which was revealed recently by the Federal Government, through the Federal Ministry of Finance.
Amadi, Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, who maintained that sharing of the largesse to the tune of N800 billion to the poor was a façade for embezzlement of public funds, wondered the worth of N5,000 monthly as a poverty reduction strategy to cushion the the effects of subsidy removal, would do to the life of poor Nigerians.
Using his Twitter handle to give his position on Monday, Amadi, who described the move as announce by the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, who disclosed that the country had secured a World Bank facility worth $800 million, as illogical.
The Minister had stated that the $800 million is the first tranche of palliatives to be disbursed through cash transfers to about 50 million Nigerians, who belong to the most vulnerable category in the society, ahead of the planned subsidy removal.
But Amadi, a public affairs crusader, in denouncing the development, said: “Why do you want to share N800b to the poor who receive N5000 as a poverty reduction strategy? Is that a sensible palliative for multiple impacts of subsidy removal? Is someone planning to have a monetized send-off for herself? There’s no logic here but to embezzle public finance.”
