N5 billion Palliative: Kogi gov’t yet to acknowledge receipt of fund, keeps mum amid concerns

One month after the Federal Government announced the sum of N5 billion palliative for each State of the Federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, Kogi State government is yet to disclose the amount received or constitute a Committee to swing into action the distribution of palliative items to its citizens in line with the Federal government’s magnanimity.

The National Executive Council, NEC at the end of its meeting on Thursday 17th August, 2023 announced the palliative through the Executive Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum that each State would be given the sum of N5 billion each as palliative to cushion the effect of hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.

The removal of fuel subsidy vide President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s inaugural broadcast on May 29, has surged the cost of things in Nigeria, thereby thrown people into unmitigated hardship, but which the Federal was proffering solutions to mitigate the hardship. Palliative was one of the immediate solution government embarked upon which necessitated the release of N5 billion to each State of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory.

The decision of palliative at the NEC meeting which was made up of State governors and the Central Bank governor was chaired by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima and was intended to be distributed among the vulnerable citizens.
The FG explained that part of the N5 billion would be grant, while a part is to be given as loan to States and was expected to be deducted from their statutory account until the debt would be liquidated.

However, CAPITAL POST learnt that Kogi State government has neither acknowledged receipt of palliative partly or wholly, nor constituted a Committee in readiness to serve the purpose for which the fund was released.

Our investigation revealed that the sum of N2 billion has been released to Kogi State as well as other States, including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT which sadly, has not been acknowledged by Kogi State government publicly in order to douse tension occasioned by the announcement of palliative largesse.

A director in one of the agency in Kogi who spoke with CAPITAL POST in Lokoja, penultimate week, acknowledged that part of the fund has been released to Kogi State government and added that the purpose for which governor Yahaya Bello and his cabinet decided to keep mum remains incomprehensible.

Pleaded that his name should not be revealed as he possess no authority to speak on behalf of the State government, he told CAPITAL POST that the thinking of the governor might be different from committing the fund into palliative, noting that a privilege information made available to him, indicated that the money would be spent on infrastructure.

He lamented that palliative may not be an issue in Kogi unlike other States that are now distributing food items to their indigenes as palliative in order to mitigate the hardship.

CAPITAL POST recalled that in Niger State, governor Mohammed Bago released the sum of N100 million to each Local Government Council Chairman as palliative to their people in the locality. Bago urged each LG Chairman to constitute a Committee to be made up of Council directors, community leaders, vigilante groups and some security agents with instruction to ensure that food commodities got to each persons.

The situation was the same in Borno where the governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum has constituted a palliative Committee and food items have been purchased well enough for distribution across the Local Government Council.

In the neighbouring Benue State, father Alia was thankful to Tinubu-led government and openly declared the receipt of the first tranche of N2 billion which the Committee he earlier constituted are working on distribution of food items purchased with the fund.

In Oyo State, governor Oluseyi Makinde, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP appreciated the magnanimity of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, revealed that his administration would add the sum of N3 billion totaling N8 billion to be disbursed in food aid to Oyo people.

Few weeks ago, the State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Barr Rahman Abiodun Abdulraheem announced the approval of car loan for primary school teachers in Oyo. He explained that the magnanimity of the governor was in response to hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy.

In his explanation, the source in Kogi said, reasons, the governor may divert the palliative which nobody should be surprised is the need to invest the fund into the newly established Kogi State University in the Western Senatorial district, and the forthcoming governorship election which seems most difficult for him because of the swell of opposition in the State.

According to him, Bello is currently wooing past political aides of previous administrations with a promise that their entitlement would be paid, stressing that those factors would put paid to expectations of palliative fund getting to the grassroots level.