Stop Picking Holes In President Tinubu’s N500 Billion Palliative

Former Governor of Kano State, Senator Abdullahi Ganduje, has criticized his successor, Abba Yusuf, for faulting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s plan to distribute N500 billion palliatives to Nigerians to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal.

Recall that Yusuf, speaking through his deputy, Aminu Abdussalam, faulted the mode of distribution of the N500 billion palliatives for small-scale industries adopted by the Federal Government.

According to him, the distribution mode will see Lagos receiving 47 percent of the allocation, followed by the South-South Zone with 17 percent, and other regions receiving significantly lower percentages.

Reacting in a statement issued on Sunday by his ex-Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Malam Muhammad Garba, Ganduje asked the Kano governor to concentrate on initiating a concrete plan that will alleviate the suffering of his people instead of picking holes in the post-subsidy removal palliative plan.

Ganduje admonished the NNPP government to borrow a leaf from Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, who increased the wage of civil servants in his state.

He said: “Instead of studying what the palliative plan is all about, Kano State openly criticised the plan only for them to withdraw the statement. While some states have gone ahead to set up committees that would provide an interim solution to the situation, and others like Imo State have increased the minimum wage to N40,000 as an immediate interim measure, the NNPP government in Kano has not made any concerted efforts.

“In 2017, while negotiations were on between the Federal Government and the Labour Union on the N30,000 minimum wage, the administration of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje went ahead and negotiated N36,000 minimum wage and thereby became one of the first state governments to approve minimum wage above that of the federal government.”

Ganduje stated that the NNPP government’s lack of understanding of governance has resulted in inconsistencies and unguarded statements from senior Kano officials.

He noted that a similar scenario played out when Secretary to the Kano State Government, Dr. Baffa Bichi, announced to the world that the reason for the demolition of the iconic Kano roundabout was because it carried a huge Christian cross that he said was against Islamic ideology.

“Unfortunately, after an outrage, the SSG appeared on national television to embarrassingly deny making the statement, which also further eroded his personal credibility and that of the state government.

“Instead of making a careful study of what is on the ground, the government engaged in vengeance and also adopted an anti-people policy that has worsened the economic condition of the state. After stopping the salaries of suspended civil servants employed by the immediate past administration as well as the demotion of hundreds of teachers, the NNPP government, despite its promise, has failed to set up the committee that will look into their case,” the statement added.