Misplaced Priorities: Tinubu Gives Agric N19bn, Reps N70bn In N500 Billion Palliative

In a glaring display of contrasting priorities, the Bola Tinubu-led administration has allocated a mere N19 billion to address the devastating impact of flooding on farmlands across the nation, while approving a staggering N70 billion for lawmakers in the House of Representatives to purportedly improve their working conditions.

A breakdown of President Tinubu’s N500 billion planned palliative measure seen by THE WHISTLER on Thursday raises questions about the government’s commitment to the agricultural sector and its understanding of the urgent need to support farmers in times of crisis.

THE WHISTLER earlier reported that the House of Representatives hurriedly approved the request sent by President Tinubu on Wednesday, seeking an amendment to the N819 Supplementary Appropriation Act to enable his administration to “source for funds necessary to provide palliatives to mitigate the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy on Nigerians.”

With worsening flooding incidents wreaking havoc on agricultural lands and leaving farmers in extreme distress, the N19 billion allocation to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to address farmers’ plights may seem grossly insufficient, especially considering the amount new lawmakers in the National Assembly would be getting.

The breakdown was given as follows: “1. N500 billion for palliatives and other capital expenditure to cushion the effect of recent subsidy removal policy.

“2. N185,236,937,815 to Ministry of Works and Housing to alleviate the impact of the severe flooding experienced in the country in 2022 on road infrastructure across the 6 geo-political zones.

“3. N19,200,000,000 to Federal Ministry of Agriculture to ameliorate the massive destruction to farmlands across the country during the severe flooding experienced last year.

“4. N35 billion to National Judicial Council/

“5. N10 billion to Federal Capital Territory Administration for critical projects

“6. N70 billion to National Assembly to support the working conditions of new members.”

Meanwhile, in a similar letter to the Senate on Thursday, President Tinubu disclosed how the Federal Government plans to disburse the $800 million borrowed from the World Bank to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on the masses.

According to him, N8,000 would be disbursed monthly to 12 million “poor and low-income households” for six months.

“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 N8,000 per month to 12 million poor and low-income households for a period of six months, with the multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals,” says part of the president’s letter read during the plenary on Thursday by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.