The House of Representatives Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abass Tajudeen, and his Deputy, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu have won praise from ethnic youth leaders for encouraging lawmakers to study and pass President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s subsidy removal plan….[Continue Reading]
New Telegraph had last week reported that the House of Representatives approved President Tinubu’s request for N500 billion to help the poor Nigerians affected by fuel subsidy.
At a press conference held in Abuja, where their leaders Odoemena Alexander, Patrick Obieri, and Ojukwu Celestine spoke, the socio-cultural group, which consists of the Ohanaeze Youth Movement, South-South Apex Youth Movement, and Arewa Consultative Youth Movement, praised the lawmakers for approving the request and claimed that doing so is in the best interests of all citizens.
Ernest Njesi and Obioha C., speaking on behalf of the groups, recalled that last month after the President announced that the subsidy had been eliminated, the lawmakers urged him to immediately implement palliative measures to lessen the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on Nigerian citizens.
The organisations stated that the President requested to change the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act in order to withdraw N500 billion from the budget to be used for fuel subsidy palliatives after realising the immense hardship being experienced by Nigerians.
They thanked Abbas and Kalu for quickly reviewing and approving the request and advised them to make sure the money is used for the intended purpose and isn’t misdirected or stolen by some avaricious individuals.
The statement reads, “On Monday 29 May 2023, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his inaugural speech, announced the removal of Nigeria’s fuel subsidy.
” As a result of the subsidy removal, the official pump price of petrol skyrocketed from the initial N195 per litre to a whopping N480–N577 per litre as the prices varied between States. The sudden fuel subsidy removal has left millions of Nigerians terrified, thus causing untold hardship.
“As weeks went by an average Nigerian finds it really had to cope with the challenges of meeting up with, not only the high cost of petrol but also the consequent increase in the prices of goods and services.
” We highly commend, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abass Tajudeen and Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu for mobilising lawmakers to consider and approve President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s subsidy removal palliative.
“This shows that the federal government and the parliament are concerned about the needs and the welfare of the people. We however appeal to the lawmakers to ensure that the money is used well for what it is meant for and not hijacked by some greedy fellows….[Continue Reading]