Before now, Nigerians were hopeful that the palliatives promised the people to cushion the impact of fuel subsidy which has become talk of the town, would have reached every state across the federation. Two months down the line, and fraction of days, the government came to power, the people are still hoping against hope, while tales of hunger reverberate everywhere with no end in sight, at least, not for now. The problem however is that it is the poor masses that are suffering while the politicians, those they voted into power, surprisingly, have different stories to tell. For example, the distinguished senators before they proceeded on vacation, allegedly had their accounts credited with some lumps of money.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, had unwittingly announced on the floor of the chambers that each Senator’s account would be credited with what he called holiday allowance, but later changed the narrative that it was a prayer from the Clerk of the house when he realised that he was speaking into the microphone. Many Nigerians have expressed disappointment that the 10th Assembly had the gut to share money openly when the palliatives promised are yet to reach the people that voted them into office. Already, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), a non-governmental rights group has sued the senate president to court, asking the leader of the Red Chamber to explain to the people the source of such funds they distributed among themselves when the majority of Nigerians are hungry.
We had in the past on our editorial column advised the federal government to eschew the idea of reducing everything that is happening in the country to politics and concentrate majorly on what should lift people out of poverty and hunger. This was why Nigerians reacted negatively when the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), whose chairman is the Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, tried to confront the situation in Niger militarily. Many Nigerians saw the Nigerien political logjam as that country’ s internal problem and advised against Nigeria wasting her scarce human and material resources on a needless mission. Thank God the voice of reason has prevailed as ECOWAS heads of government have decided to embrace diplomatic solutions to resolve the political impasse in that neighbouring West African state.
That said, the government should be on guard even now that there are speculations that a litre of fuel may go for as high as N720 in the coming weeks, although this was not part of the agreement between the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), after the bodies met with the federal government in the wake of the recent protest to drive home the appalling conditions of living in the country. The government though, had denied any increase in petroleum price for now. While we don’t subscribe to rumour mill, it is important to harp here that any attempt to hike the pump price of fuel further without putting necessary measures to ameliorate the sufferings of the people, would be very uncharitable and insensitive of the government, which may result to adverse situation in an already tensed atmosphere.
We want to caution that the federal government should act as quickly as it should, by making sure that the palliatives promised to the people are distributed nationwide without further delay. Such distributions also should be strictly monitored to avoid the items entering into wrong hands, especially in states like Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa where elections will be conducted in few months’ time. However, we also decry the monies shared among the senators openly without recourse to what the Nigerian masses are going through at present. Nigeria should be saved the harrowing experience of transactional politics, with the belief that the renewed hope slogan really is for the people. We call on the federal government again to desist from any plan to jerk up fuel price. Doing that now and in the near future may be callous of this government.
