The Week In Review: Fuel Subsidy Wahala, Bandits Now Terrorists, Snake Invasion And More

The Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is set to stop the payment of fuel subsidy which may see petrol price sell for between 300 to 400 naira; Controversy also emerged on reports that the federal government is plotting to pay N5000 to 40million poor Nigerians as ‘transport allowance’; Buhari Govt has finally bowed to pressure and tagged bandits as terrorists; and as we approach the dry season, cases of snake invading homes through the water closet has become rampant…

We are reviewing these and many more this past week.

Fuel subsidy removal and the ₦5,000 allowance

President Muhammadu Buhari

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.

Reactions

Shehu Sani, a former senator, slammed the Buhari govt for planning to give Nigerians transport allowance.

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.

The NLC also rejected plans to introduce the payment of ₦5,000 for 40 million poor Nigerians in order to cushion the immediate effects of the fuel subsidy removal.

President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba made this position known in a statement on Wednesday containing his reaction to the government’s proposal to end fuel subsidy by next year and pay ₦5,000 to 40 million Nigerians to cushion the effect.

Ayuba accused the government of taking a unilateral decision on the matter without carrying along the NLC and other stakeholders.

According to the NLC President, negotiations between the organized labour and the federal government had been adjourned indefinitely only for the government to surprise them with the introduction of a new policy on fuel subsidy removal.

Bandit tagged terrorists by Buhari Govt

Bandits

Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja had ruled that bandits operating in the North-west and North-central regions of the country can now be referred to as insurgent groups.

The judge asserted that the activities of bandits in the two regions can be termed as acts of terrorism.

The ruling follows an ex-parte motion filed by the Federal Government through the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Ministry of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).

Affirming the declaration in a statement made available to newsmen yesterday, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mohammed Abubakar, said the order to tag bandits as terrorists was given by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Abubakar said that the government decided to tag Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups and other bandits groups in the country as terrorists due to their involvement in the killings of security agents.

Snake season

Snakes

Nigeria’s media space, this week, has been rocked with reports of snakes invading the homes of individuals which has resulted in the death of some. The week started off with the unfortunate report of a Nigerian lady in Abuja who reportedly died after she was bitten by a huge snake in her home.

In a video shared online captured moments the snake was pulled out of the Water Closet where it was hidden.

The deceased identified as LCRL Bercy, a NAF Personnel was bitten and killed by the snake which hid in her WC. It was gathered that the snake bit her as she bent to urinate. 

Also, a married woman was bitten to death by a snake in Obudu, a local government area in Cross River State.

According to reports, the husband of the woman had killed one of the snakes, as it was reported that three snakes were found around her.

Sharing the photos of the snakes, the Facebook user wrote;

“Black Monday as snake bite a married woman to death in Igwo, obudu local govt, Cross River State. See the snakes below. Two were killed by the woman’s husband while the longest that bit the said woman was killed by the late woman. May her soul rest in peace. Amen.”

Another man discovered a snake in his water closed at his apartment in Maryland Lagos.

A video making rounds on social media, captured the moment the snake was seen moving around the toilet trying to find its way out of the toilet.

The yet-to-be-identified man noted that he lived close to the canal and had found the snake on the floor of his toilet.

Sharing the video, he captioned; ‘This happened yesterday I live close to a canal in Maryland, Lagos. My apartment is on the ground floor. Thank God I observed its movement from the bucket.’.

COVID-19 new strain

The coronavirus pandemic seems not to be ending anytime soon as a new strain of the virus has been detected in South Africa.

A wind of panic blew over the international community since the discovery of the new variant of Covid-19, Omicron, which would be more transmissible.

That will be all for this week! Next week is another time.