EBONYI State Government has approved a N10,000 salary increase for workers as a form of palliative following the removal of fuel subsidy in Nigeria.
The state’s Commissioner for Information and Orientation Jude Okpor disclosed this in a statement on Friday, July 14.
Okpor said the decision was reached during the State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Francis Nwaifuru on Thursday, July 13.
“His Excellency also mandated SSG, Professor Grace Umezuruike, to look into the finances of the state University (EBSU) to know what comes out and goes into the University to help determine the upwards review of subvention to the institution.
“The Council also approved the employment of 1,454 into the state civil service to fill in vacancies created in the services over the years,” Okpor noted.
Following the removal of fuel subsidy in May, some state governments have put certain measures in place to cushion the hardship confronting Nigerians.
In Kwara State, the government reduced work days for its staff from five to thrice a week due to the surge in transport costs occasioned by the subsidy removal.
The state governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq also approved the provision of buses to support the transportation of students and workers in tertiary institutions within the capital city, Ilorin.
Federal government plans N500 billion cash palliatives
Nearly two months after he announced the removal of fuel subsidy, Nigerian president Bola Ahmed Tinubu wrote to the National Assembly seeking to amend the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act and include a N500 billion loan for palliatives.
The loan, to be sourced from the World Bank, would be shared among 12 million poor families for 6 months.
“You may also wish to note that the purpose of the facility is to expand coverage of shock responsive safety net support among the poor and vulnerable Nigerians. This will assist them in coping with basic needs.
“You may further wish to note that under the conditional cash transfer window of the programme, the federal government of Nigeria will transfer the sum of N8,000 per month to 12 million poor and low income households for a period of six months, with a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals,” Tinubu noted in a letter to the lawmakers.
Many Nigerians have criticised the cash transfer palliatives, including Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections Atiku Abubakar, who described it as an attempt to divert funds, through his Special Assistant on Public Communications to Phrank Shaibu.
“The so-called palliatives that Tinubu seeks to share with the poor are just another avenue to divert public funds. For years, the Nigerian government has rejected calls to publish the list of the beneficiaries of the so-called palliatives but this has never been done because it is all a scam.
“Tinubu should stop trying to deceive Nigerians who are still suffering from the effect of his lacklustre economic policies,” Atiku noted.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.