WHILE scores of Nigerians grapple with the cost-of-living crisis caused by abolishing fuel subsidies and the unification of naira – two measures experts describe as inflationary but necessary – the federal government plans to spend N110 billion as palliative allocation to the National Assembly (NASS).
The NASS approved N70 billion from the N819.5 billion 2022 supplementary budget to support the working condition of the new lawmakers and earmarked an extra N40 billion for the acquisition of 465 Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), bulletproof cars for principal officials and members.
The senate committee on Media and Public Affairs called criticism against the bogus amount a misguided attempt to describe the appropriated sum as a gift. Yemi Adaramodu, chairman of the committee, said, “Passage of the Supplementary Appropriation Act was part of the constitutional duties of the Senate to accommodate funding for the Federal Government’s Palliative for the Nigerian public, among other National demands.”
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However, N110 billion shared among the 469 NASS members leaves each legislator with N234.5 million, as opposed to the N8,000 for 12 million poor households for six months that was earlier approved.
Although the federal government retracted on this, it had planned to share N500 billion among poor households by distributing N8000 each month.
An analysis by The ICIR showed beneficiaries can only afford one meal with the cash palliative.
Policies made in the last few months by the new administration have elicited Public backlash, but the 110bn allocated to NASS as palliative stoked outrage. To contextualise this issue, The ICIR evaluated how this sum can improve the condition of some major sectors in Nigeria.
How many PHCS can N110 billion build?
Nigeria has one of the fastest-growing populations globally at 2.4 per cent annually. Still, the healthcare system is underfunded and inefficient, falling short of multiple international indices.
For instance, the nation’s budgetary allocation to healthcare has consistently fallen below the global and International thresholds for years. The N1.08 trillion allocated for health is 5.57 per cent of the 2023 budget. It is beneath the 15 per cent of annual spending as agreed by African Union leaders.
This low funding for the health sector has affected the quality of community health care. Primary Health Care centres nationwide are in poor conditions and cannot provide essential healthcare services. They struggle with a shortage of water supply, insufficient power supply, inadequate equipment and poor distribution of health workers.
According to the Ministry of Health, only one-third of the 30,000 primary healthcare centres in the country are functional. However, funds allocated for PHCs are abysmal.
Examining the 2023 budget, The ICIR found that the money allocated to NASS as palliative is four times higher than the 2023 budget for PHCs, pegged at N22.77 billion.
If the 110bn allocated to lawmakers is diverted to improve community health care, Nigeria’s health system will be revamped.
For the construction of a PHC, N30 million was budgeted for the construction of one PHC in the national budget. Using this metric, the N110 billion palliative fund would construct no less than 3600 PHC in different communities.
How many classrooms can N110 billion build?
This sum can also be used to build 1,360 blocks of 11 standard classrooms across a country where overcrowded classroom continues to affect the quality of education provided.
A report by the Data Centre of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics listed Nigeria as one with the highest number of overcrowded classrooms in its secondary schools.
Congested classrooms affect both learning and teaching conditions. Research has shown that it reduces the quality of academic life and disturbs physical and psychological well-being. Many available classrooms are also unsuitable for learning because they are in poor conditions.
In the 2023 Budget, the Ministry of Education budgeted N80.5 million to construct one block of 11 classrooms. If this is used as a metric, N110 billion can be used to build nothing less than 1,360 blocks of 11 classrooms. That is a total of 14,960 classrooms.
It means 586 of the 774 local governments in Nigeria will get two blocks of 11 classrooms, while 188 will get a block of 11 classrooms.
The allocation of such amounts to lawmakers as palliatives is unfair to poor Nigerians, according to Iyanu Bolarinwa, assistant manager of international growth for BudgIT foundation.
Bolarinwa said the new administration had made many adjustments, and nothing has been done to reduce the suffering it induced or fix existing problems in the country.
“The plan for citizens was that N8000 would be given to ten million households for six months. When you calculate that, you realise that when it comes to the macro level, the amount does not translate to seeing the result that you will want to see.
“I think there should be a level of priority to come to place for citizens. Lawmakers do not really represent the interest of the people but their self-interest, from what we have all seen. I’ll like to see citizens ask more questions and follow up with their lawmakers to see how life can be made more easier for them and also how this government can put into place measures to counter the hardship that the removal of subsidies has caused,” he said.
Beloved John is an investigative reporter with International Centre for Investigative Reporting.
You can reach her via: Bjohn@icirnigeria.org
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at jameskennyogunyale@gmail or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames | LinkedIn: Kehinde Ogunyale