Increase Subsidy Palliatives From N8000 To N30,000 – Nwosu

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to increase the subsidy palliatives for the twelve million households from eight to thirty thousand naira.

Former Chief of Staff to the Imo State Government, Ugwumba Uche Nwosu made the appeal while fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja,

Nwosu who also called on President Tinubu to ensure proper monitoring and disbursement of the funds noted that it should not be business as usual.

“First of all we should appreciate Mr President for raising it from N5,000 by the former President to N8,000, the most important is that this money is not meant for people who have what they are doing already. If we say the money won’t go anywhere it means that we have not appreciated those who are on the streets begging for N5 to eat” he noted.

“Although I plead with Mr President to increase this money to N30,000, so that the market women would have money to invest as well as others” Nwosu added.

He called for the enactment of a committee which will include members of the Nigerian Labour Congress, National Union of Nigerian Students, Market traders, farmers and non-governmental organizations, NGOs to ensure transparency of the initiative.

“But what we should be calling for is for Mr President to monitor the disbursement of these funds, the transparency in managing these funds is the most important thing, It shouldn’t be business as usual, where monies like these are given to ministries or agencies and at the end of the day nobody gets the money”

“Most of these agencies have killed us, most of them don’t even step out of their office, they sit in Abuja and do the arithmetic and at the end of the day, the money enters one person’s pocket, the members of the committee must be people of integrity and people that are ready to serve. With all what Nigerians are going through, there are people who need this palliative, it’s a welcomed initiative.”

Nwosu added that what the federal government needs to do now is to form a committee which includes market women, students, members of the Nigerian Labour Congress, elder statesmen and women and farmers, so that they can monitor the money.

“The names of the people that will benefit from this money should be published in their local government, state and federal level. It should not be that the money is transferred into one account and no one knows who that person is.

Ugwumba Nwosu stressed that Committees are essential for genuine disbursement of these funds.

Nwosu who said the President must put his foot on the ground and ensure committees are formed noted that the collaboration with the government and NGOs will indicate those who need the money most.

“It does not matter if you have one person per state, and make it 37 or 40 committee members, this will show transparency of the initiative” He emphasized.

Georgina Humphrey, Edited By Grace Namiji