Loan Palliatives: Enugu Residents Advise Tinubu Not To Toe Buhari’s Path

Recall that President Tinubu got approval from the Senate and the House of Representatives for a $800 million loan and N500 billion palliative for the removal of petrol subsidy.

Barr Amos Ogbonna, an Enugu-based human rights activist, urged the president to ‘get to the root of what is ravaging Nigeria, which are lack of basic social amenities and functional refineries’.

He said, “The money will eventually end up in some people’s pockets just like other such initiatives. Such money will not get to the real poor. How many real poor people in Nigeria have access to banking services to be able to get such palliatives?”

A businessman, Solomon Eya, described the initiative as paradoxical. In his view, “The same Tinubu that created poverty is seeking loan for palliatives. He should have fixed at least one of the nation’s refineries before removing the subsidy. Nigerians are bleeding since Tinubu assumed office. And Tinubu knows what we passed through under Buhari’s conservative government.

“The high cost of fertilisers is affecting farmers. Why can’t the Tinubu government reason towards reducing cost of fertilisers, even if it is allowing their importation? What is his plans in the power sector? My opinion is that the palliatives that Tinubu is proposing are for government’s secret use in the name of assisting the poor masses.”

Pastor Justice Mbah advised Tinubu to do something different from ex-president Buhari if he dreams of making any impacts for the masses. He said, “If there is no paradigm shift from what Buhari did, Tinubu’s mission to become president of Nigeria might just be based on personal ambition, but not to solve our endemic problems.”

He advised the president to assemble an economic team to advise him on how to rejuvenate Nigeria’s economy for rapid development.