Tinubu Govt Distributes ‘Few Cups Of Garri’ To Nigerians As Fuel Subsidy Palliatives
Human rights and pro-democracy group, Take-It-Back Movement (TIB), has tackled the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government over the distribution of “few cups of Garri” as palliative for removal of petrol subsidy removal in Lagos State.
This was confirmed by the TIB group which uploaded a photograph of the food packaged with the text “Badagry West LCDA, Fuel Subsidy, Palliative Initiative Package,” adding that the supposed palliative would not end the socio-economic challenges Nigerians had been facing in recent time.
The group wrote: “Distributing few cups of garri as subsidy palliatives to Nigerians is not only unfortunate, it is a direct insult on the sensibilities of the Nigerian people.
“How do few cups of garri address the problem of increased cost of transportation? How does it tackle the challenge of unaffordable cost of food? How does this mitigate the issue of increasing poverty, and unprecedented hardship occasioned by subsidy removal? President @officialABAT is treating Nigerians like a conquered people. It’s only a matter of time before he provokes them to the streets.”
Distributing few cups of garri as subsidy palliatives to Nigerians is not only unfortunate, it is a direct insult on the sensibilities of the Nigerian people.
Recall that the National Economic Council, NEC last Thursday said that the Nigerian government had approved N5 billion grant to be given to each of the 36 states of the federation for the procurement of grains as well as five trucks of rice to each state as palliatives to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.
It also directed the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to distribute food items to states sharing border with Niger Republic over the recent political instability in the country.
These were some of the outcomes of the NEC meeting presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State said the approval of N5 billion and trucks of rice and grains were part of measures to bring temporary solutions to the high cost of living caused by the subsidy removal, as government continued to work with more enduring programmes.
He said the states are to purchase 100,000 bags of rice and beans among other items.
