Maduako Igbokwe I Tuesday, Dec. 05, 2023
AWKA, Anambra, Nigeria – Senator, representing Anambra South Senatorial District of Anambra State Senator Ifeanyi Ubah at the weekend said the Prof Charles Soludo led All progressive Grand Alliance APGA government in the state is not sharing the federal government palliative to the people.
According to him, the Soludo led government is sharing the rice for political gains in the state. He made the statement in Anambra state during one of his official assignments in the state.
Senator Ubah said all the rice the federal government sent to the state to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal have not been seen in any place,instead rebranded for other interests. He said the people whom the rice were meant to soften their challenges are not being touched.
According to him, the rice brought into the state by the federal government, nobody knows exactly where those bags of rice are. Ubah said the Anambra state All progressive Grand Alliance APGA has rebranded the rice and sharing it to only APGA members.
“We have palliatives sent to us by the federal government. Those bags of rice have not seen the light of day. Meanwhile, we’re going through a hectic period. Yet we saw rice being rebranded and shared to APGA party members in the state.
“Mind you, the rice brought into the state was the first supply. We want to know exactly where those bags of rice are. If not, anything rebranded is our rice.
That is why we are raising this alarm so that those concerned should do the needful” he said . He said that so much has been done by the federal government in the state and we are not talking about them.
Meanwhile, Anambra State Commissioner for Information Mr Paul Nwosu said that Soludo has since put in place a comprehensive set of palliatives that are in excess of N5 billion to mitigate the hardship brought about by the removal of the fuel subsidy regime.
Nwosu in a statement said that it is also crucial to clarify that out of the initial N5 billion announced by President Bola Tinubu (GCFR) to be given to states, which some media commentators have continued to misrepresent, it’s only N2 billion that has been released, partly as loan, of which the states are expected to pay back 48 percent while the Federal Government will pay the remaining 52 percent.
According to him, Soludo as a strategic manager of resources believes that palliatives should go beyond just doling out bags of rice to the people.
He said Soludo’s focus and determination to deliver a more diverse package that would be of better impact to the living conditions of the very low income earners cannot be countermanded.
“A well-thought-through programme for maximum impact will significantly alleviate the economic hardship of the poor and downtrodden over a sustainable period of time.
It is not in the Soludo style to settle for distributing palliatives only to the urban areas and some rural villages. Soludo ensures that he gets to uncharted areas and erstwhile unreachable zones of Anambra State” he said .
