Palliatives: Northern Think Tank Demands Explanation From Governors

Apparently worried by the skyrocketing prices of foodstuffs, a Northern group, Arewa Think Tank, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to query the 36 state governors over the food items given to them recently to share to the masses as palliatives by the federal government.

Recall that some Nigerians have recently protested against hunger in the country, calling on President Tinubu to find lasting solutions to the problem.

A statement issued by the chief convener, Arewa Think Tank, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu recalled that, “In the last six months, the 36 state governors received N3.4 trillion. This is just their federal allocation, IGR not inclusive, what did they do with it? Rice and other food items given to them to share with the masses, where are they?”

The group noted that the food scarcity is artificial because economic saboteurs are the ones mopping them up to embarrass the administration of Tinubu.

To this end, the group called on President Tinubu to come down hard on the 36 governors as well as the economic saboteurs as part of measures to ensure food availability in the country.

The group said the ongoing food scarcity is artificial because Nigeria is economically far much better than where it was on May 29, 2023.

“We can see that economic saboteurs are at clandestine work to frustrate and embarrass the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“We are calling on President Tinubu to deal decisively with the enemies of progress against his government, fight corrupt people to a standstill by bringing them to justice. There should be no sacred cow in the fight against corruption.

“We regret to note that the country as at May 29, 2023  had expenditure that was wasteful and unsustainable, and so it is not an easy task for President Tinubu turning back from that wasteful road without encountering hiccup,” the group said.

He said, “Nigerians should be happy that bold measures have been taken by President Tinubu and the gains will soon manifest because more palliatives and more succour are coming soon to augment the rising cost of living.

“There is now a reduction in consumption of petrol by about 20 million litres. Government is confronting pipeline vandalism and oil production is rising. We now do 1.65 million barrels per day.

“We can see that government officials are tasked with ensuring how best the fundamental objective of state policy can target and achieve the goal of optimal development because the government has delivered a budget that now has capital expenditure that outweighs recurrent expenditure.

„There is also a marked increase in budgets for infrastructure, health and education which are the enablers of growth.

„There are many provisions in the budget to support agriculture. Agric funding has increased. More funding for small scale farmers so they can do better as individuals and also contribute better to national productivity,” he said.