JUST IN: Reps Give Tinubu Go-Ahead To Share N500 Billion Palliative

The House of Representatives has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to disburse N500 billion as palliative to ‘poor and vulnerable’ Nigerians.

This came barely 24 hours after the president made the request.

Tinubu had said the palliative would be rolled to help with poor cope with hardship occasioned by the Federal Government’s recent removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).

In a statement issued after its plenary on Thursday, the House of Reps said “The approval was sequel to the consideration and approval of a request by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the amendment of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act.”

Several lawmakers who spoke during the lower legislative chamber’s plenary expressed their support for PMS subsidy removal and assured that the House would back Tinubu’s administration to lessen the burden of the fuel subsidy removal on the masses.

“Consequently, the House suspended its rules to accelerate consideration and approval of President Tinubu’s request, making the money bill to pass first, second and third readings immediately,” part of the statement read.

Earlier, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, read a letter from President Tinubu containing the request for the Senate’s approval of the disbursement $800 million borrowed from the World Bank as palliative.

You may also wish to note that the purpose of the facility is to expand coverage of shock-responsive safety net support among the poor and vulnerable Nigerians. This will assist them in coping with basic needs.

“You may further wish to note that under the conditional cash transfer window of the programme, the Federal Government of Nigeria will transfer the sum of N800 per month to 12 million poor and lo-income households for a period of six months, with the multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals,” part of Tinubu’s letter to the Senate read.

In his letter yesterday to the Speaker of the House of Reps, Abbas Tajudeen, President Tinubu requested “the amendment of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act in accordance with the attached.

“The request has become necessarily important to, among other things, the source for funds necessary to provide palliatives to mitigate the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy on Nigerians.

“Thus, the sum of N500,000,000,000 only has been extracted from the 2022 Supplementary Act of N819,536,937,815 for the provision of palliative to cushion the effect of petrol subsidy removal.

“Whilst I hope that the House of Representatives will consider this request expeditiously, please accept, Rt. Honourable Speaker, the assurances of my highest consideration.”