The Chief Executive Officer of Connected Development, Malam Hamzat Lawal, has condemned the continued payment of fuel subsidies by the Federal Government, describing it as unacceptable.
Lawal, who spoke during an interview programme on Channels Television, said Nigeria, as a result of the payment, spends over N50 billion daily subsidizing the rich.
He said, ”We are subsidizing the rich, not the poor. The poor are actually bearing the brunt. And we spend over N50 billion every day subsidizing the rich people who can actually afford it.”
Mallam Lawal also called on the National Assembly to call for a public hearing concerning the $800 million loan the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), planned to secure from the World Bank.
The Federal Government had in April announced that the loan would be disbursed to about 50 million vulnerable Nigerians or 10 million households as part of its fuel subsidy palliatives measures.
The President recently sought the approval of the loan facility in a letter written to the Senate.
The activist, however, stated that the loan was unnecessary while adding that the public hearing would help ensure that all the grey areas concerned Nigerians have been answered.
”Taking a loan is not bad, but what do we do with this loan? People are poor. We have poor people, and it is not their doing that they are poor. And as a government, as people, we must care for these poor people.”
He also urged the government to explore the Open Government Partnership platform mm to ensure transparency in its spending.
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