Posted by President Bola Tinubu’s plans to give N8,000 to 12 million households as a temporary fix to the subsidy crisis have been criticized by the Igbo interest group Coalition of South East Youth Leaders, or COSEYL.
The idea was referred to by the organisation as a gift from Greece in a press release that was signed by its president general, Mr. Goodluck Ibem.
The group claimed that a monthly allowance of N8,000 could never fully ease the misery that the elimination of fuel subsidies was bringing in Nigerians’ lives.
“It is a Greek Gift for President Tinubu to say he wants to pay 12 million Nigerians N8000 a month when he is the same person who makes it impossible to use N8000 just to cook a pot of soup for a family of three by removing fuel subsidy,” the group claimed. The subsidy had been paid for until July 2023 by the previous administration.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s plan to pay 12 million households N8,000 for six months is another plot to siphon the resources of the nation,” the group claimed. Under President Muhammadu Buhari, Sadiya Umar Farouq, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, carried out a similar action.
“The said Minister was receiving N500 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, each month for the same purpose Tinubu wants to begin now, but no household was seen to benefit from the said program,” Tinubu stated. It was merely a conduit pipe used to empty the country’s coffers.
The group claimed that Nigerians were sick of hearing about such programs and that, instead of the better life the president had promised, the scheme would cause misery and suffering for Nigerians.
“As the cost of goods and services has escalated due to the increasing cost of fuel, diesel, and other petroleum products, Nigerians are finding it difficult to feed their families, pay for transportation, and take care of other essentials.
“Nigerians are tired of being misled by individuals in positions of authority.
“We want programs that would directly benefit the populace rather than those that will only worsen the hardship and extreme poverty that Nigerians are already experiencing as a result of the elimination of gasoline subsidies.