Petrol subsidy removal: Need for immediate review statutory allocations

By Polycarp Onwubiko

It really does not pay for the leadership of federal government (past and present)to be deceiving Nigerians on phony strategies for poverty alleviation like Trada-Moni, CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme, Direct Money Transfer, School Feeding (with alleged brazen monumental fraud) by the supposed Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs during COVID-19 when school children were hibernating in their parents houses.

Common sense dictates that poverty alleviation programmes are better, effectively and efficiently carried out by the state governments which are very close to the people. The mantra currently being paraded by the president with respect that the humongous money that is expected to be realised from the withdrawal of petroleum subsidy will be channeled into poverty alleviation programmes, education and health will be one of the greatest '419' coming.

Recall that a former president who recovered the much orchestrated humongous "Abacha loot" told Nigerians who cared to hear that the money was channeled into education and health sectors; and the gullible (or is it better to say helpless Nigerians?) believed but nothing substantially changed in the two critical sectors of governance.

The clear fact is that no president can alleviate poverty except he embarked on immediate restructuring of the lopsided federation where, as was in the realistic federal constitution (1963 Republican Constitution) over 90 percent of government activities were done by the then regional governments and the results were fantastic.

The quasi federal arrangements in place today cannot make any mark on poverty alleviation because the federal government collects over 90 percent of duties which it should not going by the realistic principles of federal system of government the world over.

State governments are in the position to embark on measures of poverty alleviation relevant or peculiar to their people's way of life and value system. In other words, the diverse way of life of a multi social and cultural groups of people need their respective values to effectively tackle their socioeconomic challenges. Abuja cannot know what every ethnic group need to alleviate the grinding poverty and penury ravaging them.

So, while expecting the president to embark on restructuring the lopsided federation, the statutory allocations should be immediately reviewed so that the money realised from the removal of petroleum subsidy will be channeled into the Federation Account for distribution to the state and local governments (when the federation is hat measures to embark upon to alleviate the excruciating poverty ravaging the country.

Restructured, local government administration will be the sole responsibility of the state governments) for them to know what measures to embark upon to alleviate the excruciating poverty ravaging the country.

President Tinubu should not indulge in ware-housing the money realised from the removal of petroleum subsidy in the pocket of the federal government and indulge in the deception of the Buhari administration in the supposed poverty alleviation strategies which added nothing to the weal and welfare of the masses.