The House of Representatives has approved President Bola Tinubu’s proposal to allocate 500 billion naira from the approved budget for offering palliatives to Nigerians following the removal of petrol subsidy. The lawmakers passed the amendment to the 2022 supplementary appropriation act just 24 hours after the president made the request, citing the urgent need to mitigate the impact of the subsidy elimination.
The lawmakers encouraged President Tinubu to ensure that the proposed funds are used wisely. In his letter to the House of Representatives, read aloud by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during Tuesday’s session, Tinubu stated that 12 million families would receive N8,000 each over a period of six months to alleviate the hardships caused by the removal of subsidies.
The purpose of the letter was to seek authorization for increased funding for the National Assembly-scaled national social safety net initiative, which is expected to benefit an additional 60 million people. Tinubu emphasized the need for digital transfers to be sent directly to beneficiaries’ accounts to ensure the legitimacy and fairness of the process.
