Why Is It That N8000 Palliative Proposed For The Poor Was Considered By Gov. Sule To Be “Too Much”, And Not N70 Billion Approved For Lawmakers? -By Isaac Asabor

There are some avowals that ought not to be permitted to go unopposed, even if having an opposing view pits one against a personality for whom one has great respect and admiration. Such is the statement credited to the Governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule, who recently said he disagrees with those arguing that the proposed N8,000 palliatives by the Federal Government won’t do much to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on poor Nigerians and widely reported on media space.

As gathered, the governor, who was a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, June 21, 2023, insisted that N8, 000 is a lot of money for so many poor families in the country who don’t get to see such an amount in a month.

“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.

“So, 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,” Governor Sule said.

Since the governor “scattered the table” as street slang goes, there has been a lot of heated debate about how much N8,000 can go into sustaining the upkeep of a household in the face of the prevailing broad-based inflation. The best summation of this debate was offered by Edith Osakwe, a teacher and resident of Asaba, Delta State, who frowned at the federal government’s plan as she said “It is not only the poor that should be given the money. The money is supposed to be for every Nigerian because all of us are negatively impacted by the fuel subsidy removal.

According to Osakwe: “We need the palliatives but the President should increase it from N8,000 to at least N20,000 if the federal government really wants to touch the lives of its citizens that were thrown into penury since the inception of the current administration.

“For instance, in my family, we spend N5, 000to purchase fuel to power our generator. In a month, we spend close to N30, 000. There is a poor electricity supply in the area we live, culminating in us spending this outrageous amount. We are not even including the amount we cough out to fuel our vehicle because these days, we go to work or travel by public transport since fueling our vehicle has become a pain in our neck.

“Don’t forget that since the removal of the fuel subsidy, the cost of food items in the market has increased outrageously leading to a high cost of living”.

At this juncture, it is expedient to ask, “What made the governor thinks that N8, 000 is too much for a poor person, or better still, the “Poorest of the Poor?” Again, “Who are the poorest of the poor, and how are they captured in Nigeria’s demographic architecture?”  “Still in the same context, “Do they have their data and contact, such as phone numbers, bank accounts, and what have you?” To the view of this writer, the foregoing questions are what the governor ought to have asked instead of deriding the poor by saying N8000 is too much. To put it bluntly, that politician whom I am seeing in my mind’s eyes spends far more than N8, 000 to feed his dog in a month, not to talk of the costs of veterinary treatments that are compulsorily administered on the dog in a month. If I may ask, “Why are some rich politicians always angry whenever the collective well-being of the poor forms the basis of discussion, particularly for improvement?

In fact, in his reaction to the governor’s gaffe, a colleague of mine asked, “Do thesepoliticians know God?” The answer to my colleague’s question was farfetched as I was not ready to play God by judging others but the only thing I told him was that how the rich treat the poor, particularly those in Christendom, is the clearest demonstration of their relationship with God, and that to ignore the poor is to despise God.

Without a doubt, the governor’s comment that the proposed N8,000 to be paid to the poor was too much is derisive, particularly as it did not occur to him that the National Assembly amended the N819.5 billion 2022 supplementary budget containing an approval for N70 billion to support what it described as the working conditions of new lawmakers.

In fact, the allocation of N70bn to the lawmakers has attracted more criticism and mixed reactions from Nigerians. One would have loved the governor to join others in condemning the humongous amount which the lawmakers. As gathered, it is not clear if the N70 billion is part of the N281 billion provided in the 2023 budget for the National Assembly, and About 70 percent of the 469-member federal legislature is new.

Among those who have voiced their disapproval of the allocation is a human rights lawyer, Femi Falana.

Falana condemned the National Assembly’s decision to allocate N70 billion as palliatives for its members in a statement over the weekend, describing the move as illegal and contemptuous.

According to the senior lawyer, the decision blatantly contravenes Section 70 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, which outlines the appropriate remuneration and allowances for members of the National Assembly.

“Out of sheer insensitivity coupled with impunity, the members of the National Assembly, regardless of political affiliation, conspired to breach the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 by padding the Supplementary Appropriation Bill, 2023 to provide the so-called palliative of N70 billion for 306 newly elected members.

“While the masses of Nigeria are groaning under the excruciating economic pains unleashed on them by the ruling class, the National Assembly has awarded N228.7 million to each newly elected legislator. As if that is not enough, the members of the National Assembly have earmarked N40 billion to purchase 465 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and bulletproof cars for principal officials and members. However, the legislators approved the sum of N500 billion for 12 million indigent people in a country where the National Bureau of Statistics said, “62.9 percent of people (133 million) are multidimensionally poor,” he said.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to ask, “Why Is It that N8000 Palliatives proposed for the poor were considered by Gov. Sule to be “Too Much”, and not N70 Billion approved for lawmakers?