Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State says President Bola Tinubu’s N8,000 palliative is a lot to so many poor Nigerians.
Mr Tinubu, who ended the fuel subsidy regime on his inauguration on May 29, triggering fuel price hike, proposed N8,000 for N12 million households for six months.
Justifying Mr Tinubu’s palliative in an interview with Channels TV on Saturday, Mr Sule said, “N8,000 may not be so much money to some people, but it is a lot to so many other people who are from very poor families that don’t see N8,000 every month. So, the only thing is that let us identify those families.”
He added that the N5,000 stipend for the poor under former president Muhammadu Buhari’s regime was much appreciated.
“We were sharing only N5,000 and believe me there were so many people that were waiting for that N5,000 every month. Indeed there were some communities that were able to do some kind of contributions and they were able to do a lot in their various communities,” he said.
Under Mr Buhari’s regime, 133 million Nigerians were plunged into multidimensional poverty
The Tinubu-led government has been criticised for N8,000 palliative amid economic hardship induced by fuel subsidy removal. However, the decision has been reversed as Nigerians berated the offer as too meager.
Last Tuesday, petrol price hit N617, making life more miserable for Nigerians.
Mele Kyari, Managing director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL), said the skyrocketing price of fuel is a result of market realities, adding that it is the best for Nigerians.