2023 Vote Buying – Shehu Sani Knocks Buhari Govt Over Plans To End Fuel Subsidy, Pay Poor Nigerians ₦5,000 Monthly

Human rights activist and former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani has reacted to plans by the federal government to end fuel subsidy by next year and pay ₦5,000 to 40 million Nigerians to cushion the effect.

Sani in his reaction expressed dissatisfaction with the government plan, saying fuel subsidy removal will trigger a lot of price increases and ₦5,000 won’t solve the problem.

Naija News recalls the federal government through the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed had unveiled plans to start paying transport allowance to Nigerians for at least six to twelve months from 2022.

The palliative according to the government is to relieve citizens from the effect of total fuel subsidy removal which may kick in by the second half of 2022.

The Minister reiterated this again in her statement on Tuesday.

The government had lamented that fuel subsidy is costing the country resources that should have been channelled to other sections of importance like education and health.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Mele Kyari, also on Tuesday, hinted that the price of petrol may rise to ₦340 in 2020.

Kyari disclosed this during the presentation of the World Bank Nigeria Development Update, November 2021 edition titled “Time for Business Unusual” in Abuja.

According to the GMD of NNPC, fuel subsidy removal would be effected in 2022.

Reacting to the government position, Senator Sani wrote: “When the pump price rises to N340, salaries or wages will be worthless, landlords will increase the rent, the schools will increase the tuition & parents must pay; food prices, transport, water & electricity bills will jerk up. They live on Mars & think 5k can solve all these problems.”

He also accused the government of trying to use the transport fare allowance as a tool for vote-buying ahead of the 2023 general elections.

“The last time they shared 10k ‘market money’ before the elections; this time they want to share 5k ‘transport fare’ to 40 million Nigerians before the elections,” he wrote on Twitter.