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Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu state announced that his government has introduced palliative measures to counter the economic hardship resulting from President Bola Tinubu’s petrol subsidy removal.
The governor made this disclosure on Monday in Enugu during the inauguration of a committee tasked with procuring, storing, and distributing relief items to Enugu residents.
During the inauguration, the governor urged committee members, chaired by Deputy Governor Ifeanyi Ossai, to handle the palliatives with transparency and prioritize the swift distribution of the items to those most in need.
In addition to the deputy governor Ifeanyi Ossai as chair, the committee comprises Okechukwu Edeh, chairman of the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON) in Enugu, Chukwudi Nnadozie, chairman of Uzo Uwani LGA and ALGON deputy chairman, Pedro Nwankwo, chairman of Awgu LGA, and Livinus Anike, chairman of Enugu East LGA.
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Also part of the committee are the special adviser to the governor on agriculture, Mike Ogbuekwe, the programme manager of Enugu State Agricultural Development Programme (ENADEP), Ogbonna Onyeisi, and the head of the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Chinasa Mbah.
While recognising the harsh impact of the fuel subsidy on the people, Mr. Mbah asserted that the removal of the subsidy would bring considerable benefits to Nigerians in the long term.
While maintaining that he shared Nigerians’ pains, Mr Mbah hoped the palliatives would help alleviate their hardships. He also urged the committee to spare no time in ensuring that the palliatives were sent to ‘homes of those that need them the most in the state.’
The Enugu governor said, ‘You recall that a few months ago, the federal government of Nigeria removed the fuel subsidy. And as you know, that came with pains, shared pains, even though we believe in the long run, it will be beneficial to the country. The question for us now as leaders is, how do we mitigate those shared pains that our people are going to be exposed to?’
He added, ‘It is part of what we are doing to see how we can begin to cushion the effects of some of these pains. So, what we are doing now is to see how to fix the pains people are going through, and there are also plans for short and medium-term solutions, and that we are going to do in due course.’
The governor further pressed the committee to ensure that the palliatives were distributed quickly and transparently to those who deserved them.
