Politics
Gov Soludo Rolls Out Palliatives To 59,000 Citizens
The Anambra State government has announced that up to 59,000 citizens would be benefiting from her palliative package to cushion the effects of the economic hardship ravaging the land, which is generally believe to the attributable to the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, aka, petrol.
Governor, Anambra State, Chukwuma Soludo made this known in a statement released on Monday at Awka.
Biztellers reports that the recipients would be made up of pensioners and public servants, as well as those in the employ of the 21 Local Governments of the State.
Details of the package, from the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) led administration include N12,000 monthly payments (to be added to regular emoluments) for the period of September to December 2023.
He maintained that the government’s gesture was in addition to a 10 percent salary increase, which the state had been paying since January 2023 as part of its “foresighted” response to the rising inflation.
Gov Soludo’s Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, clarified that ‘disruptive change’, especially the removal of subsidy on petrol, was long overdue, but would not be without certain hardships on everyone resident in Nigeria.
Consequently, Gov Soludo, acknowledged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu already put in place an agenda of palliatives as the response of the Federal Government towards alleviating the effect of the subsidy removal.
What he failed to aver clearly in the statement is whether Anambra State had received her share of the FG’s palliative and if the package being unveiled formed part of it, even though he assured that the state would be partnering with the FG.
In addition, Gov Soludo assured that the state government would continue to clear the backlog of gratuity and pension of her pensioners.
Under this palliative scheme also, the state will be distributing rice to over 300,000 households in the coming weeks across the 326 wards of Anambra.
While appealing to landlords to show empathy and avoid arbitrary increment of rents, he assured that micro businesses would be encouraged to take cheap loans to boost their businesses.
He said, “Nigeria is undergoing fundamental re-setting of the macroeconomic framework. The long overdue disruptive change, especially the removal of subsidy on PMS and reduction of distortions in the exchange rate, comes with certain hardships on all the residents of Nigeria.
“Governments at all levels in Nigeria have shown a keen commitment to ameliorate the consequent short-term effects of the policy change on livelihoods.
“The President, Bola Tinubu, has rolled out an agenda of palliatives as the response of the Federal Government. We support the FGN agenda and expect to partner with the Federal Government to ensure that Anambra residents benefit maximally from the federal programmes.
“Ours is a government on the foundation of the All Progressives Grand Alliance. We are progressives, and the welfare of the ordinary Nigerians, especially the poor and vulnerable, remains our primary focus.
“In our 2024 budget, we shall roll out a more comprehensive agenda to address the medium to longer-term issues that will help to smoothen the path for all our residents, and ensure that everyone shares in our broad agenda of building a livable and prosperous homeland.
“In the meantime and over the remaining four months of the year (September – December 2023) as well as within the context of our 2023 budget framework, we are rolling out a few immediate and medium-term measures.
“Our response recognises that the subsidy removal affects all citizens, especially millions of the unemployed and underemployed youths and vulnerable segments of the population. Our interim response reflects the need to target the total population.
“In our foresighted response to the rising inflation, our government had increased the salaries of all public servants by 10 per cent effective January 2023. We have been paying the 10 per cent adjustment since January 2023.
“In addition to the salary increase, we will be paying every pensioner and public servant in the employment of the Anambra State Government and the 21 LGAs (approximately 59,000 persons) for the period September 2023 to December 2023, a monthly flat non-taxable cash award of N12,000. This is to augment their monthly take-home.”
He laid emphasis on exemption from taxation of the economically vulnerable, indluding hawkers, wheelbarrow and truck pushers, vulcanizers, artisans, okada drivers, petty traders with capital of less than N100,000.
Gov Soludo also stated that attention would be paid to education with a view to making it even more affordable in the state from the 2023-2024 academic session.
“We are reviewing the plethora of other levies, fees, and charges in these schools. Before schools resume in September 2023, we shall make further announcements to sanitize the system and reduce the burden on our pupils/students and their sponsors.
“We call on the landlords to show empathy to their tenants at this challenging moment and consider easier options for rent payment.
“Still on initiative to reduce the cost of transportation for the larger segment of Ndi Anambra, we will be applying to purchase many of the CNG-fueled buses to be provided by the Federal Government for intra-state transportation. The aim is to reduce the cost of transportation within Anambra.
“We recently distributed a total of 1.1 million oil palm and coconut high-yielding seedlings to over 100,000 households. We plan to sustain the distribution of one million seedlings per annum over several years in continuation of our revolution to create a new palm-coconut green/industrial ecosystem that will guarantee 500,000 – 1,000,000 households earning N1.5m to N3m per annum, thereby lifting them out of poverty, create wealth and earn foreign exchange for Nigeria.
“We are proposing a revolving loan scheme at near-zero interest rate. We are targeting over 100,000 micro businesses.
“We are determined to collaborate with the Federal Government to ensure that Anambra residents benefit maximally from the myriad of palliatives being rolled out by Mr. President, including; Provide our updated Social Register for Anambra residents to benefit from the FGN cash transfer — apply to attract a conditional grant of N50,000 to at least 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 21 LGAs of the State- support MSME and Startups in Anambra to apply for N500,000 – N1million soft loan each at 9% p.a. and repayable over a period of 36 months.
“In collaboration with the Organised Private Sector in the State, apply to obtain the N1bn soft loan each at 9% pa and repayable over 5 years available to 75 manufacturers in the country; – the N100 billion CBN commercial agricultural loan– the Gas conversion scheme,” Gov Soludo added.
Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has said Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, cannot simultaneously support the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other political parties.
Lawal made the statement while commenting on Wike’s involvement with the Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party political platform associated with efforts to support President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
Speaking in an interview with Channels Television’s Inside Sources on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, Lawal said Wike needed to make his political position clear.
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“Our message is very very clear, be on one side, you can’t be on two sides. If you are in APC, please come out and support the APC, not you are supporting APC here and you are supporting some other political parties somewhere else,” Lawal said.
The Zamfara governor said APC governors would maintain their position on the matter despite Wike’s comments.
“We maintain our stand and the message is very clear. He can speak, he can say whatever he wants to say, but our position has been very clear, APC all the way from head to toe,” he said.
Asked whether the governors were effectively asking Wike to join the APC, Lawal replied, “exactly.”
Lawal also disclosed that he would discuss Wike’s political position with President Tinubu when the President returns from his working vacation in France.
“It’s something I will discuss with the President when he comes back. Let there be a clear line where this guy belongs to. It’s either he is in APC or he is out, simple. So I go with my brothers, the governors,” he said.
Wike, who remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has repeatedly expressed support for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election while maintaining his association with the Rainbow Coalition.
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has said he supports the Labour Party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election while maintaining that he will not oppose President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s candidacy.
Otti made the statement during an interview on Arise TV on Friday while discussing the 2027 presidential election and his position on Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The governor said he had previously stated that he had a presidential candidate, but clarified that he was referring to the Labour Party candidate.
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Asked if he was supporting the candidate, Otti said, “Yes.”
However, when questioned about whether he was supporting Tinubu, the Abia governor said Tinubu had a right to contest the 2027 election.
“What do you expect me to say? To say I’m not supporting him?” Otti asked.
He added that he had already stated that Tinubu had the right to run and that nobody could stop him from contesting.
Otti also explained that he was not in a position to oppose Tinubu’s candidacy.
“I’m not going to oppose his candidacy, and it is not within my right, even as a human being to… so I can choose what I want to do,” he said.
According to him, opposing a candidate while being part of government could create internal conflict, stressing that disagreements over policies should be addressed within government meetings.
“When you say opposition and you are part of a government, then what you are driving towards is implosion. So if I do have a problem with anything, I’ll sit down in one of our meetings and I’ll make my point,” he said.
Otti further said some policies implemented by the Tinubu administration resonate with his thinking, particularly the removal of fuel subsidy.
“Quite frankly, there are a lot of things that we have talked about now that he has implemented that resonate with me and my thinking,” he said.
He maintained that the fuel subsidy was unsustainable, adding that any decision to reintroduce it would require adequate funding.
Otti also noted that, as a governor and member of the National Economic Council, he is part of discussions and decisions concerning policies implemented by the federal government.
Former Anambra State Governor and 2027 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has ruled out seeking the office of governor again, saying he would not return to the position even if Nigeria’s Constitution is amended.
Obi made the declaration in a statement on X on Friday while addressing the ongoing controversy over Anambra State’s debt, saying he had no disagreement with the state’s incumbent governor, Chukwuma Soludo, or any other governor in Nigeria.
“I am not seeking the office of governor in any state, and I will not seek that position again, even if the Constitution is amended,” Obi said.
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The former governor also dismissed suggestions of a personal dispute with Soludo, describing him as his “dear elder brother.”
“I wish to assure the public that I have no disagreement with my dear elder brother, Governor Soludo, or with any governor in Nigeria,” he said.
Obi’s declaration comes amid the ongoing public debate over financial obligations allegedly linked to his administration in Anambra State.
He said he had remained silent over the past few days because he was grieving the death of his “very dear elder brother and friend,” Chief Okey Ezeibe, but said he had decided to respond to issues that had occupied public discussion.
Beyond the Anambra controversy, Obi also called on governors across the country to allow political opponents to campaign freely in their states ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He urged governors to support whichever presidential candidates they preferred while also permitting other presidential candidates and contenders for other offices to campaign without interruption.
“Ultimately, voters should be allowed to determine whom they wish to serve them,” Obi said.
He further urged political actors and Nigerians to focus on the challenges confronting the country and the hardship being experienced by citizens rather than what he described as political distractions.
Obi is currently the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) for the 2027 election.
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