Senators are intensifying the distribution of palliatives in their constituencies as part of efforts to douse tension and end the ongoing protests across the country over hardship, the Nigerian Tribune gathered on Sunday.
On a day President Bola Tinubu addressed the nation, urging patience and calling for an end to further protests, many lawmakers in their constituencies also sued for peace, making more personal commitments to the welfare of voters.
“It is true that not many people are happy about the turn of events in Nigeria today. It’s a fact, let us not hide it.
“There is hunger, there is insecurity and citizens can’t cope with the high cost of living. But, we have a country to safeguard and to cooperate with the Federal Government to reap the gains of the policies it has introduced, no matter how painfully,” a senator from one of the North-Eastern states told the Nigerian Tribune on the phone.
The lawmaker disclosed that most of his colleagues were involved in the distribution of palliatives to their people while also “preaching patience and understanding” with the Tinubu administration in a bid to stop the situation from further deteriorating.
Speaking on the president’s speech and the measures introduced by the administration to address hardship, the Chairman, Senate Services Committee, Senator Sunday Karimi, told the Nigerian Tribune that, as hard as some of the administration’s policies were, they were necessary to tackle a backlog of inherited problems.
Citing the removal of the subsidy on petrol and the floating of the Naira as examples, Karimi said they were meant to cut down corruption and contain economic sabotage.
He stated: “The President raised two issues. One, was the first decision he took to remove fuel subsidies on petrol. For over 24 years we enjoyed the subsidies.
“However, before now, there had also been a clamour for the subsidies to be removed. We were subsidising fuel for people in Benin Republic, Niger, Togo and others, where marketers made humongous profits at the expense of Nigeria and Nigerians.
“Two, the issue of multiple exchange rates. It was an avenue for corruption. So, the government came up with a single exchange rate by floating the Naira. Though it came with some pain, it brought changes such that in the long run, our economy will be better off.”
He observed that the removal of duties on imported food items like rice, wheat, among others, would also go a long way in addressing high prices soon.
Karimi noted that while palliatives could bring some immediate relief, they would only be temporary, a reason the government must still take those hard decisions everyone else had avoided.
“If you have a problem, instead of finding solutions by taking decisions promptly, you rather continue to apply palliatives, or if you have an ailment that needs an urgent surgical operation, you choose to do palliatives instead of the operation; that palliative may end up killing you. That is the situation we have found ourselves,” he added.
The senator, who represents Kogi-West, said lawmakers were of the view that the searchlight should also be beamed on state governors, who had been taking funds from the Federal Government, but did not want to give an account of how they utilised the money.
He spoke further: “Now, Mr President said over N400billion was released to state governors since he came into office. Have we asked how the governors used this money?”
“The problem is not even about the federal government alone, some of these governors, we have to ask them questions. Are they doing what they were elected to do?
“Tinubu is actually trying his best, given the present circumstances. It is not just about the Federal Government; let our people beam their searchlights on the state governors too.”
Speaking directly to the young people protesting on the streets, Karimi called for patience with the government.
“We need to plead with the protesters to be patient with the government. We understand their plight and they have the right to protest. Some of the measures taken by the government will yield fruitful results soon. States too have to work hard to relieve the pain of their people. It›s not just about the Federal Government”, he told the newspaper.
Giving specific examples of the interventions lawmakers were making, he said in his own case, he had bought many trailer loads of grains and other food items and financed the building of a military barracks in his senatorial district to improve on security.
He explained that the project would encourage people to return to the farms to cultivate crops and in the long run, help to bring down the prices of consumables.
“I have also set up a number of cooperative groups, up to 50, on which I am spending over N100m. There is a bursary award for 1,000 students, each of them to get N100,000.
“These are all personal contributions. So, as leaders, we need to come out and collectively assist our people,” he added.
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