By Olusegun Olanrewaju, David Lawani, and Deborah Onyofufeke

As subsidy removal visits Nigerians with untold hardship, the prices of commodities have continued to skyrocket daily.

Nigerians are lamenting as, pretty soon, kids may resume for the new session.

Parents and guardians are not happy that school fees, particularly in some government schools, have increased exponentially.

A cross-section of citizens spoken to by ThisNigeria bore their minds on how the palliatives are being disbursed in states across the nation.

The Federal Government last week Thursday announced that each of the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will receive N5bn palliative to cushion the effect of the removal of petrol subsidy that has plunged more Nigerians into poverty.

It also disclosed that an ad-hoc committee would be set up to engage with the leadership of labour unions on the disbursement of the palliatives.

Some of the decisions reached at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the State House, Abuja, include the setting up of a committee comprising the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) as chairman; as well as governors AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara State); Chukwuma Soludo (Anambra); the Chairman of Progressives Governors Forum, Hope Uzodimma (Imo State); PDP Governors Forum chairman, Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, and Abia State governor, Alex Otti.

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A statement was released after the meeting reports that the council has received progress reports on the ongoing nationwide distribution of rice, grains, fertiliser, and other items to states, and the N5bn financial support provided by the Federal Government.

The statement further commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) for their interventions.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu, on her assumption of office, gave the statistics that about 136 million poor Nigerians and over seven million live in extreme poverty.

This figure is quite alarming for a country like Nigeria, which prides itself as the giant of Africa, blessed with rich natural and human resources.

*Hardship, amid slow pace of delivery

Grace Apeh, a civil servant, said she hasn’t received anything yet, either in the form of food or money.

“No, I haven’t received foodstuff or money from anyone or anything labelled as Federal Government palliative,” she said, adding, “I did hear that the President has disbursed money to be given to Nigerians, but I am yet to be a partaker”.

A technology expert, Abraham Oshaga, also said he was yet to receive anything palliative.

He also expressed doubt if what would be given as palliatives would ever be enough to cushion the effect of the hardship hitting Nigerians because of the subsidy removal and increment in school tuition, among others.

He said, “I am yet to get any palliatives from the government. But I even doubt if it would be enough for anyone though. How much will they be sharing? What’s the quantity of food items they will be sharing?

“Honestly, I don’t hold much hope for that intervention to help Nigerians because I remember the money they claimed to share during President Buhari’s time, N5,000 monthly, how many people got it?”

He further asked, “Is N5,000 enough to end hunger? How long will such an amount last a single person, much more a family of four or more? I don’t know how much they intend to share this time, but it had better be reasonable or the food items had better be much because there’s plenty of hunger.”

A petty trader, who identified herself as Mama Happiness, said, “l don’t know anybody that has got it because I speak with my aged mum in the village every day and she hasn’t mentioned anything like that to me.” She added that her mum lives in Enugu State, where she hailed from.

She said she was looking forward to getting the palliatives as things are so hard and lamented the increment in commodities in the market, adding that she couldn’t sell her wares again because the prices were too high.

According to her, the palliatives could help in a little way. She called on the authorities in charge of the distribution to hasten up as millions of Nigerians are waiting for it.

Another Nigerian, Auwal AbdulRahman, a civil engineer, joined others to say he hasn’t received the palliative and would not know of anyone who has.

He said, “Palliatives? I don’t know what distribution method the government is using, but it has not reached me. I don’t even know anyone who has received it, though I have heard about the intervention multiple times in the news.

“It is a great idea, given the level of hardship and poverty in the country now. Many people cannot even afford two meals a day anymore. I hope the state governors and those in charge of sharing the palliatives would not embezzle the money or hoard the food stuff like they did during the COVID-19 period. Nigerians need that palliative. I just hope everybody in this nation will do what is right for once.”

Despite the Federal Government’s promised intervention and the release of N5bn to the states, people are still groaning with the removal of subsidy as it is obvious that the government intervention is slow and not swift enough.

An Abuja-based lawyer/pastor, Paul Adoiza Omoluabi, said the question of giving palliatives by the Federal Government to states to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal is a good measure, but noted that serious concerns on the distribution of the palliative to the poorest of the poor, and the questions begging for answers such as:

“How did the Federal Government arrive at the data to be used for the distribution of the palliative? How many of these poorest of the poor have a viable or reliable contact address? How do we verify those who received the palliative? How long will the palliative be distributed? Is it a one-off support or consistent support from the Federal Government of Nigeria?

“Do we, as Nigeria and Nigerians, have a database reflecting the exact number of those under this category? All of these questions and many more are begging for answers, he noted.

*Nigerians want EFCC and ICPC to track the allocation of resources

A concerned FCT resident, Bello Olorunbe, said the removal of the fuel subsidy is a good step in the right direction.

He, however, noted that the Federal Government should utilises its pertinent agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to track the allocation and distribution of the funds.

He said, “The acceptance of the removal of fuel subsidy by the majority of Nigerians signifies a widely supported path forward. Furthermore, the Federal Government’s allocation of N5bn to state governments as palliatives is a positive step.”

Another resident of Lagos, Gbenga Olusegun, said, “It is imperative to stress that transparency and accountability in the allocation and distribution of this N5bn is paramount. We all anticipate that the fund will be deployed judiciously, reaching those in greatest need, and devoid of any mishandling or corruption.”