Former National Legal Adviser of All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Muiz Banire SAN has deplored the manner in which the state governments handled the distribution of palliatives released by the Federal Government to cushion the effect of petrol subsidy removal.
Banire spoke in the latest installment of his Weekly Leadership Discourse hosted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.
In August, Vice President Kashim Shettima disclosed that the National Economic Council (NEC) had approved N5 billion palliative for each state of the federation, including the federal capital territory (FCT), to cushion the impact of the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Speaking after the NEC meeting, the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum disclosed that the N5 billion is to enable state governments to procure 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize, and fertilizers to cushion the effect of food shortage across the country.
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Banire said, “Except in a negligible number of states, the beneficiaries have ended up being largely politicians while the procurement was contracted out, with about forty percent of the appropriated sum ending up in the pockets of the contractors, contrary to the intendment of the appropriation”.
The senior lawyer stated that he had reservations about the governors’ readiness to ensure equitable distribution of the palliative, noting that he has been proved right.
“Few weeks ago when the palliatives were released by the federal government to the States, I had so much reservation about the way and manner the sum of five billion Naira would be spent by the Governors. In that piece, I had described the released sum as trust fund which must be so treated.
“In other words, it is a fund that cannot be distributed at the whims and caprices of the Governors but handled by a team of impeccable Nigerians as trustees. I had warned that the traditional mode of distributing items as palliatives had never served the purpose for which it was meant.
“I therefore was of the view that we had to, this time around, do it in a different way and manner to be fashioned out by the trustees. One of the drawbacks of the old system is the contracting of the items out in a manner that sizable amount of the sum would end up in the pockets of the contractors than the beneficiaries.
“As predicted, this is exactly what has happened with all the expected pitfalls. Except in a negligible number of states, the beneficiaries have ended up being largely politicians while the procurement was contracted out, with about forty percent of the appropriated sum ending up in the pockets of the contractors, contrary to the intendment of the appropriation. This is a really bad situation that must be deprecated by all.
“No relief has actually be given to the vulnerable,” Banire said.
The senior lawyer appreciated a civil society organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), over its seven-day ultimatum for the 36 state governors to give details of the palliative distribution or risk legal action.
“We truly need to know who are the beneficiaries of the fund and the mode of disbursement.
“I urge all Nigerians to join SERAP on this so that we can start enthroning probity and accountability with this case,” Banire said.
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