…Citizens give governors stern warning
• List critical areas they should channel windfall to
By Okey Sampson (Umuahia), Noah Ebije (Kaduna), Timothy Olanrewaju (Maiduguri), Judex Okoro (Calabar), George Onyejiuwa (Owerri), Priscilla Ediare (Ado-Ekiti), Obinna Odogwu (Awka), Tony John (Port Harcourt), Scholastica Onyeka (Makurdi), Paul Osuyi (Asaba), Ighomuaye Lucky (Benin), Oluseye Ojo (Ibadan), Layi Olanrewaju (Ilorin), Femi Folaranami (Yenagoa), Desmond Mgboh (Kano) and Geoffrey Anyanwu (Enugu)
As new governors in the country settled down to work after their May 29 inauguration, monthly allocations coming to them and their old colleagues from the Federation Account jumped up significantly.
Since then, the states have been awash with increased cash. They are benefitting from the gains of fuel subsidy removal announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his inauguration day, an announcement that prescribed untold hardship for Nigerians up till today, even when the president has disclosed that he has so far raked in over N1 trillion from ending the over 40 years fuel subsidy regime.
Now that the people know that their governors are enjoying a windfall from the Federation Account, they are warning them not to fritter the money away, but to deploy it for the wellbeing of the people by embarking on building and maintaining critical infrastructure, as well as the urgent needs of the majority of the people in the states.
Specfically, they want the governors to focus more on people-oriented projects that will benefit the poor majority rather than the elite few.
ABIA
The desire of residents of Abia, which styles itself as “God’s Own State” is that the state government should use the increased allocation which has resulted to extra funds to rebuild dilapidated infrastructure, clear the backlog of workers’ salaries and pay the pensions of retirees.
Idika Ume, a civil servant, said that available information revealed that in July, the state received allocation in excess of what it used to have in the previous years.
He, therefore, advised the state government to use the extra funds to rehabilitate and reconstruct roads in the state.
Ume equally wants the government to use part of the fund to provide palliatives that will cushion the adverse effect of the fuel subsidy removal.
“People are suffering, particularly workers since the removal of the fuel subsidy. Government should put some of the funds into palliative measures. Again, Abia has the worst network of roads in the Southeast. That is why the government should deploy part of the extra funds to tackle the terrible state of the roads.”
For Esther Okoro, a petty trader from Umuahia, the government should channel the extra funds into areas of governance that would benefit the poor in the state.
Sunday Sun learnt from a senior official of the state government that the said extra funds are already being deployed for rehabilitation of some roads and health facilities across the three senatorial zones.
KADUNA
The people of Kaduna State want the government to invest the extra allocations from the Federation Account into health, education, infrastructure and other sectors that will impact positively on the wellbeing of the citizens.
Bearing this in mind, the Publicity Secretary of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Prof. Tukur Muhammad Baba said: “The extra funds released to the state government from the Federation Account should be allocated to people-oriented programmes. The funds should be allocated to health, education and infrastructure development. These are very critical issues. These funds should be invested in human development. Parents should be relieved of certain obligations in health and education. The funds should not be spent on frivolous issues and matters. Let the funds be spent on something concrete that will impact directly on the citizens of the state.”
Also a community leader in Kaduna, Elder John Fwah, said: ‘It’s very interesting that the Tinubu administration declared extra allocation from the Federation Account and the most interesting part is that such funds are meant for state governments. In local parlance the extra allocations would be referred to as “jara” at our various local markets.
“Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has spoken about his desire and concern to improve the wellbeing of the people, now is the opportunity for him to display it practically with the extra allocations as a starting point.
“Now that this administration has deemed it fit to declare it for the benefit of the citizens through state governments, let them do the right and proper thing by ensuring that it touches the lives of the people. For the extra allocations to be meaningful to the recipients in the states, it should be channelled to areas of most need especially in this heat of removal of fuel subsidy which has worsened the already bad situation.
“Most important thing for the state governments to do is to launch massive public transportation in various cities and towns. This will bring some relief for people in moving from point A to point B, especially when you recall that people have abandoned their mobilities.
“The extra allocations to states could be more meaningful when the governments channel it to agriculture, health and education which are the areas mostly in need of attention. The state government must be wary of ploughing it into roads infrastructure and projects of that type as these may not be the priority of the people.
“The state government is strongly advised for once to lay their cards on the table and spread the butter thinner on the bread for the good of the society such as ours in this new democratic government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who has generously made this extra allocation available to state governments.”
BORNO
In Borno State, most of the residents desire to see the government deploy the extra funds to boost healthcare services and empower the youths.
“We want the governor to spend the current allocation on providing drugs to patients in the hospitals at a low price and pay medical personnel incentives to work extra hours,” Ahmed Abdullah, a trader in Maiduguri, said.
Others like Aishatu Mohammed, an undergraduate, proffered this advice: “Let the governor establish a special fund as grant to youths to start small businesses and develop some of the ICT training or skill they have instead of using the same knowledge to commit crimes.”
However, Jonas Musa, a teacher, expressed concern that the extra funds to states may not be used for the good of the people, saying: “Many people are indifferent to the news of the extra-allocations to states after the removal of petrol subsidy because of the problem of corruption in our country. The governors will only become richer.”
CROSS RIVER
While commending the Federal Government for the extra allocations, a cross section of Cross River residents called on Governor Bassey Otu to invest the windfall in infrastructural development and payment of long outstanding gratuities and pensions to retired public servants.
Former media aide to Governor Liyel Imoke and Prof. Ben. Ayade, Mr Dominic Kidzu, said that the extra allocations coming to states could be likened to manna falling from heaven because though they were pleasantly received they were neither negotiated nor expected.
Kidzu suggested that for a state like Cross River that suffers from congenital fiscal shortages, such largesse could be dedicated to deliberate expenditure targets like human or infrastructure development.
“Thus, the administration could decide, for instance, to pay long-outstanding gratuities to retired civil and public servants and also implement promotions already attained in terms of financial benefits.The other option, of course, could be infrastructure development, like inner city upgrading.
“Government could decide to undertake a comprehensive upgrade of all inner city roads in the two local government areas that make up the metropolis,” Kidzu said.
On his part, Hon. Cletus Obun, a former vice chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River Central Senatorial District, praised the Federal Government for the humanistic intervention, but added that there must be sustained monitoring of the package to ensure appropriate utilisation.
He said: “There should be specific directives on what the funds should be used for. Salaries and infrastructure are major areas of deficit. The funds should not be diverted.”
IMO
In the last three and half years of the Hope Uzodimma administration there has been a marked improvement in the major access roads to the state which are mostly federal roads.
However, the majority of Imo people would want the state government to use the extra funds to provide more infrastructure in the three zones, particularly the local government areas especially healthcare and roads.
Mr Ikedi Nwuwa, member of the Izombe Town Union said that the rural communities are in critical need of infrastructure like access roads, community healthcare facilities and the provision of electricity to ease the hardships in the local communities.
His words: “Governor Hope Uzodimma has to use the extra funds to tackle the infrastructural decay across the local governments in the state. In the rural communities there are no link roads to enable the people to transport their farm produce to Owerri, the state capital. Again, there are no functional healthcare facilities in the communities as well as electricity.So, I strongly feel that the state governor should channel the extra funds to the rural communities.
“In fact, now that the law permits the states to generate their own electricity, the governor could set up an electricity power agency to provide electricity for the communities which will boost the economy of the state.”
Also Dr Harold Onumo noted that the economy of the state is in shambles due to lack of critical infrastructure, especially the lack of power in most of the local governments across the state.
So, his counsel is that the state government should also invest in the primary healthcare especially at the level of local governments and communities.
“With the extra funds, I think the state governor should do well to invest in the provision of electricity, primary healthcare and massive improvement in the public schools which are critical in the development of the state. The majority of the rural access roads in the communities are in terrible condition. Even the link roads which the governor began work on over the last three years are yet to be completed,” Onumo said.
For Chijioke Nnamdi, the government should invest the extra funds in the agricultural sector. He explained: “The government should invest in the agricultural sector by providing incentives like fertilizers and herbicides to the local farmers who do not have the resources to buy these critical inputs. We also need access roads to transport the produce to the cities. But unfortunately, the state government has been paying lip service to the issue of agriculture in the state and that is why stable food items are very costly today in the state.”
EKITI
Like their counterparts in other parts of the country, Ekiti State residents want the government to invest in people-oriented projects that will benefit the majority of the people, not the few on the corridors of power.
One of them, a don in one of the universities in the state, who requested not be identified in print, opined: “The extra allocation is supposed to be infrastructure support funds. It is meant to alleviate the sufferings emanating from the removal of subsidy on petroleum products. If there’s not going to be misappropriation, then let the state government provide cheaper alternative transportation systems. Buses could be provided for both intra and inter-city movements. In that case, government should be ready to curtail the excesses of public transport operators who may want to antagonize such moves on the part of the government.
“Special provisions should be made for civil servants and school children. Road rehabilitation, construction should also not be left out. Hopefully, adequate provision will be made for salary increments.”
Also, a cleric, Dr Victor Olulodu, said: “Government should make provisions for food relief packages. Food should be distributed to the residents of the state in form of palliative following the pattern of COVID-19 palliatives.
“There should be provision of transportation support services for the civil servants to ease transportation difficulties to their various offices.
“State government should increase the salary of civil and public servants, pending the time that the Federal Government plans will be implemented. Those who are not salary earners should be compensated through their religious leaders or through any organization that they belong.
Commenting on what the government would use the extra funds to do for the citizenry, the State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development and Chairman of the three-man committee.on palliatives set up by the state governor, Mr Akintunde Oyebode, said: “What we took a decision to save part of what came in from the Federation Account because there are going to be months where we will have less cash.”
ANAMBRA
In Anambra, some residents of the state want the government to invest the extra funds in road construction and other necessary infrastructural needs of the state. Some other residents who spoke with Sunday Sun said that they would prefer the government to invest the money in the proper management of waste being generated in the state.
Collins Eze, an artisan, noted that the state government was already gradually constructing some of the bad roads in various parts of the state, however, he would want the state to increase the tempo in that direction.
“If the previous administration had done what it was supposed to do in terms of road construction, we wouldn’t be talking about road construction today. Look at the state capital, many of the roads are bad.
“But it is good that the present administration is already working on them. It is a good thin, but I would like the government to intensify efforts. Once it gets the roads done, it can face some other thing,” he said.
Another resident, Ebele, a hair stylist, prefers that the state government should look into waste management. She was not impressed with the way and manner waste is being being managed in the state.
“It is not easy to manage waste, but if the persons responsible for that don’t know what to do or how to go about it, they should step aside so that some other persons who can do this thing will have a chance to solve the problem.
“I like to stay in a clean environment and I can tell you right now that I am not impressed with the waste management style of the state. So, they can use that extra money to do something about it”, she stated.
A civil servant who preferred anonymity said that more investment should be made in the area of security. He said that although the government was making efforts to tackle insecurity in the state, more action should be taken.
Commissioner for Information in the state, Sir Paul Nwosu, could not be reached to comment on what the extra cash meant to the state government and what it plans to do with it. All efforts made to reach him failed.
RIVERS
In Rivers State, the Oil and Gas operations capital of the country, Mr. Festus Ogwuche, a Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner, told Sunday Sun that the extra funds mean more resources to tackle more areas of interest in development. This could be infrastructural, human or political.
Ogwuche said: “This time around, emphasis must be placed on the excruciating hunger and poverty that has engulfed the land. It would have been more reasonable to channel all available funds into the revitalisation of the refineries as a matter of utmost urgency, rather than making it a form of largesse to states and local governments, on allocations that we know are usually diverted into private pockets.
“Government must define its priority correctly and understand the paramountcy of the welfare of the population in this country. I don’t know how far a government could go successfully in its deliverables if it inclines more to elitist policies than it gives attention to the welfare of the people, particularly in a country where the bulk of the population is hungry.”
Similarly, the Leader, Future Nigeria Movement (FNM), Mr. Livingstone Wechie, noted the difficulties Nigerians are passing through particularly in the current political dispensation.
Wechie said: “This is in view of the current economic situation that has posed serious socio-economic difficulty to Nigerians occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy among other factors. To this effect, governments at all levels in the country should consider the need to invest these excess funds into agriculture and transportation infrastructure to ease logistics and welfare of the people, particularly the South-South states, where the main means of transportation are both land and sea-based.
“This should serve as the immediate palliative measure in place of the insoluble stipends that were ab initio proposed for a category of Nigerians.
“The South-South governments should take these excess funds as the palliative that should help cushion the effect of the subsidy removal by implementing innovative alternative to ease the impact on the economy and the masses.
“They must not see this increase as an oil boom for ostentatious spending with crass insensitivity. Government must be seen as an institution that seeks to genuinely resolve the economic situation that tend to strangulate the people and this at all times must be with a human face and conscience.
“To this end, the President Bola Tinubu-led administration must along with other levels of governments, in a bipartisan way win Nigerians over to their side with policies to solve and not compound the grinding problems caused by the corruption and ineptitude of past governments.”
BENUE
In Benue State, the people have set agenda for Governor Hyacinth Alia and listed what they want him to do with extra allocation received by the state.
The priority areas they listed include payment of arrears of salaries and pension of over 10 months, the establishment of relevant small and medium scale industries in the state.
A lecturer at the Benue State University, BSU, Makurdi, Professor Terkura Tarnande, stated that the erstwhile Samuel Ortom administration left a huge backlog of unpaid salaries and pension.
While noting that the people of Benue state have suffered so much because of the unpaid salaries, Prof Tarnande said that “these arrears are yet to be cleared. If the governor gets more funds, he should try and clear the arrears of salary of workers.
“He is ruling over a people and the people are the hallmark of governance. So, he should try to make the people live better because we are living in very hard times now, prices of things have gone up, everything has become so expensive and without money, it will be difficult for people to live well. So he should see to it that the backlog of salaries and pension arrears are settled.
Tarnande, who is also the dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, at the university, also observed that the state has severe infrastructural challenges in the rural areas, stating that the governor should also look into it with a view to bringing solution to that.
“Most of our roads in the rural areas are so bad. In Makurdi even as we are living at the bank of the river, we find it difficult to get pipe-borne water. Also in Makurdi, a number of township roads have been in bad shape,” he said.
He recalled that Governor Alia has began awarding contracts for construction of some of the roads, saying that he should also look at the infrastructural challenges that are bedeviling the state.
“The government should establish small industries that would tap the resources of Benue State and create employment for both the rural people and the elite of the state.”
On his part, a Professor of History, also at BSU, Prof Gabriel Nyityo, said that apart from settling salaries and pension arrears, the state government should pay contractors whose contracts have been verified.
A civil servant, Mr Benjamin Ugba, expectedly said the government should pay the arrears owed to state civil servants and pensioners in the state.
DELTA
Like their counterparts in other states, residents of Delta State have highlighted what they referred to as areas of priority for the administration of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori to tackle.
They urged the government to pay attention to human capital development, road infrastructure, electricity and reviving moribund industries to boost employment generation in the state.
Mr Osita Biose who lamented the presence of vegetation on roads across the state, urged the government to also revive the Public Works Department (PWD), in addition to the provision of basic necessities of life.
“They should provide employment for the youths, it is not about coming around to satisfy the boys because what Ifeanyi Okowa did was to satisfy the boys. This time around, Oborevwori should learn, he should know that people are hungry, everybody is angry.
“The most important things in life are food, water, electricity, health. These basic things are lacking in Delta State. They were talking about payment of one thing for borehole which should not be.
“You can’t sink borehole in your house and they are now asking you to pay for the borehole in your house. In those days, we had PWD taking care of the environment. But today, if you are travelling, you see bushes on the road, even within Asaba, you see bushes.
“Thank God the governor now was the Speaker of the House in the last dispensation and he was carried along. This time around, he should be able to address the issues with his experience,” he said.
On his part, a public affairs commentator, Victor Sorokwu, decried the high level of corruption in the system, and called for a new consciousness in the administration of public funds.
“The problem with administration in Nigeria is that it is always business as usual. There should be a new consciousness in the administration of resources. More money does not mean more development. Once the mindset is still skewed towards corrupt enrichment, more money just means more looting, more enrichment.
“What should be done is first to spell out where these resources should go. One, the people are steeped in abject poverty, whatever could be done to subsidise agricultural inputs so that there could be food production; subsidise transportation; provide rural electrification; then of course, you look at education.
“These are areas that touch directly on the grassroots, these funds should be channeled towards these sectors. Subsidise the inputs that generate massive food production because there is hunger in the land. And the food we eat is produced from the grassroots, the rural areas. These are areas that these more money should go into,” Sorokwu said.
Another resident, Akpovoke Otiti, said the subsidy removal is biting harder, and urged the state government to pay adequate attention to human capital development.
“There should be priority for human capital development because as it is now, the subsidy removal is biting hard on citizens, so the state government should think of palliative measures.
“But we also need projects like road networks in Delta State. We are suffering in Delta State in terms of roads and bridges and electricity. They should dwell more on electricity, the majority of the communities in the state are in total blackout,” Otiti stated.
Also, Autsin Azuh, agreed that the subsidy removal has brought untold hardship upon the people especially with regard to the movement of people and materials from their various locations.
“Government should subsidise transportation. Then secondly the living standard, the workers who pay huge money to get to their offices have not been considered, so there is need to increase the minimum wage,” Azuh said.
He also called on the government to consider breathing life into moribund industries as well as invest in modular refineries to create employment opportunities.
“I want to take you back to the Midwest Region when the then Premier, the late Dennis Osadebey built the Okpella Cement Factory, the Asaba Textile Mill and the Uzere Cassava Processing Factory.
“Now is the time for the governor to look inward. If you do not consider modular refinery which is the in thing now, they should consider reviving the moribund industries. By the grace of God, government has the veto power, they can resolve what issues that are there with Asaba Textile Mill to create employment and generate foreign revenue.
“The Uzere cassava plant can be revitalised. Not only that, they should build modular refineries, this state has lots of gas and other petroleum products, we can refine here,” he added.
Meanwhile, the state governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has promised to utilised the resources of the state judiciously to develop all sectors under his M.O.R.E agenda.
EDO
In Edo, the Executive Director of Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), David Ugolo, advised the Edo State government to invest the extra funds in a social protection programme that will benefit the poor in the state.
“In allocating the fund the government should rely on a transparent framework to identify beneficiaries within the state. The government should look at the Edo State Social Register and see how it can review in consultation with the Federal Government to ensure accountability in the entire process of selecting the poor.
“It will be good investment if the government engages key stakeholders like the civil society organisations, traditional rulers and members of the House of Assembly to ensure ownership of the process.
“Transparency and accountability in the process will improve the acceptance of how governments will deploy the extra fund.
“The government should avoid any attempt to politicize the process by publishing the process,” he said.
OYO
In Oyo State, stakeholders suggested that the funds be used to provide agricultural and farming tools to boost food production, devise ways to distribute food to those in need, fix roads, reduce school fees and subsidize the cost of accessing healthcare services.
Public affairs analyst, Dapo Falade, stressed the importance of transparency in the allocation of the extra financial support, stating that the provision of basic human needs such as food, housing, infrastructure and access to education must be a priority.
Falade cited the worker-friendly stance of Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde as an example of how the extra funds could be utilised effectively, suggesting an investment in agricultural and farming tools to help boost food production.
The analyst also called for careful monitoring and control to ensure the funds are used to achieve their intended targets, advocating stringent accountability measures throughout the disbursement process.
A cross section of residents of the state, including commercial motorcyclists, drivers, farmers, and traders, said the state government should channel the extra money coming to the state to support farmers to increase food production, devise ways to distribute food items to the underprivileged residents, fix deplorable roads, reduce school fees for students, subsidise cost of accessing health care services and so on.
Meanwhile, the state government has established the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAFER) and also appointed a 15-member committee to manage the initiative.
The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Sulaimon Olanrewaju, told Sunday Sun that the governor during his state broadcast recently, unveiled the SAfER intervention, which consists of six major components.
These include extending bus routes, introducing inter-city buses to connect different zones in the state, reducing fares for students and senior citizens, providing food relief for over 200,000 vulnerable households, supporting 10,000 farmers with input assistance, offering a loan of N500 million to young agropreneurs, and providing a N500 million loan with low interest rates for SMEs, traders, artisans, and other small business owners.
According to him, Makinde stated that his administration would provide health insurance premium for 100,000 vulnerable citizens for one year under the Oyo State Health Insurance Agency (OYSHIA) scheme, adding that his administration would also cover the health insurance premiums for pensioners under OYSHIA scheme.
He disclosed that every pensioner that had paid for health insurance premium from personal pockets would be refunded.
Olanrewaju stated: “Right from the commencement of his leadership of Oyo State, His Excellency, Engr. Seyi Makinde, has made it clear to the people of the state that the money of the state would be spent on the state.
“He has kept that promise to the people. So, the additional funds from the federal allocation will be used to improve the lot of Oyo State citizens. The additional fund means more roads to be constructed, more hospitals to be built, more schools for the people and better life in general for the people of the state.”
KWARA
With the removal of petrol subsidy biting harder, residents of Kwara State are pleading to the state government to use whatever funds coming to the state from the Federal Government in areas that would benefit the masses.
Mrs Rebecca Igbayiolye said: “What I want the state government to do is to work on how food would be brought to the masses’ table. For instance, most of the rural roads should be repaired in order to enable farmers to bring their produce out for people to buy as prices of foodstuff have skyrocketed, as well as other basic needs.”
Also, Alhaji Usman Abdulkadir noted that the government should not act like what happened during the COVID-19 palliative period when only few people were given what came from the government. As such they must let it touch every home.
He said that the government should not consider civil servants and marketers alone.
He hopes that whatever would be given would be encompassing.
Meanwhile, the state government has unveiled what it plans to do with the extra funds.
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mallam Rafiu Ajakaye, said that apart from foodstuff, the government has increased civil servants salaries by adding N10,000 to their take home pay pending the time minimum wage will be determined by the government.
Also, other categories of residents that would benefit from the largesse are security agents and students. While security agents will be given N100,000 per month students’ bursary would be raised from N5,000 to N10,000.
Similarly, the free bus service will take students and workers in the tertiary institutions to and from their campuses.
Traders will be considered under the various government funding windows like Owo Arugbo, Trader Moni, among others, he disclosed.
Bayelsa
For residents of Bayelsa State, the state government should focus on internal roads as it has more funds accruing to the state from the Federation Account.
Speaking to Sunday Sun, Mr Fred Penawo, a civil servant, stated that while the state government should be commended for the big-ticket road project it is doing across the three senatorial districts, attention should be paid to the internal roads that are in a poor state of disrepair.
“The state government is trying with the three senatorial projects, but it needs to focus attention on the internal roads. The internal roads in Yenagoa are bad. The government should not allow the people to suffer like this. The people staying around those areas like Saptex, PDP road, Okaka, Otiotio are passing through harrowing experiences with the roads. The state government should repair those roads,” he said.
Also speaking, Mrs Veronica Ebibai, a trader at Swali market, said that the state government should increase the monthly empowerment scheme to boost the businesses of women and youths.
According to her, the N200,000 monthly grant being given to women and youths should be increased.
“We want the government to give us more money for our businesses. The N200,000 monthly funds given to women and youths should be expanded to include more people so that they can benefit,” she advised.
Mr Morris Alagoa, an environmentalist, adding his voice said that the state government should pay attention to fighting coastal erosion in several communities in the state.
“ Now, I am not unaware of the fact that the Sen. Douye Diri administration is executing the three senatorial roads; with a view to pushing them to a logical conclusion. However, I belong to the school of thought that the Federal Government interventionist agencies, especially the NDDC and Niger Delta Affairs Ministry; ought to render assistance by contributing a good chunk of funds into these road projects.
The state, having the longest stretch of the Atlantic Coastline, is also grappling with ocean encroachment. Most communities too, like Odioama, Odi, Obogoro, Famgbe, Peremabiri, Olugbobiri, Abobiri, Ondewari, Ayama-Ogbia, Anibeze, Northern part of Kaiama, etc, are all suffering from coastal erosion and need serious attention; coupled with the twin environmental issue of flooding. These are all areas that the increased revenue accrual could help in bridging gaps. The Polaku bridge to link Sabagrea to provide us alternative routes in and out of Yenagoa is also there. Ensuring that health facilities are fully equipped and functional, just as primary and secondary schools, the provision of potable water and electricity for Bayelsans; these are all begging for attention.”
KANO
Also, a cross section of residents of Kano State have offered suggestions on areas of urgent interest the state government should pay greater attention.
According to Abdugafar Oladimeje, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State should attend to the teeming population of young and unemployed youths in the state, adding that these young people represented the future of the state and whatever it aspires to attain in future.
Abdugafar, who heads a Non-Governmental Organisation in the area of sports development in the state, however, observed with delight that the state government has already reactivated the 21 skills acquisition institutes initiated by the then Kwankwaso administration in the state, adding that is the way to go to help the young ones skill up themselves in different sectors of the economy.
Bello Abubakar, a trader at Sabon – Garri market, (Abubakar Rimi market) in Kano wants the state government to look at the issue of industries in the state.
According to him, the government should devote more resources in the establishment of small-scale industries and in the resuscitation of the ailing ones in the state.
Some other residents suggested that the state government invest in the provision of affordable, but qualitative educational opportunities to the people.
While applauding Governor Yusuf on the revival of overseas scholarship for students of the state, they pointed out that now is the time to really look at the quality of public schools in the state, adding that it is an open secret that many of the public schools are in very bad shape and cannot produce good student’s outcomes.
For Tony Okonkwo, a resident of New Road, in Sabon Garri, the state government should not forget to address the dilapidated state of urban roads in the state from the increased revenue.
He also appealed to the state government to look at the roads in Sabon Garri area, saying that 95 per cent of the roads in the area have collapsed.
A number of civil servants, who craved anonymity insisted that the state government should increase their salary, adding that the cost of living has skyrocketed in the last two and half months since the assumption of office of the present government.
They added that the removal of fuel subsidy has affected the worth of their salary, adding that they were dying of utter lack and hunger.
enugu
In Enugu, the people want the state government to use the extra funds from the federal allocation to make potable water available to the entire state, as well as execute low housing scheme for the poor masses.
One of them, a journalist, Lawrence Njoku, summarized what the majority of those who spoke to Sunday Sun when he said: “Well, the truth is that there is not a time the state government can get fund or can get allocation and said that the allocation they got is enough or adequate. So the much I can say is that if you look at Enugu, it has some peculiar challenges and one of them has to do with issue of potable water. If the state government can apply the extra fund they got from federal allocation to providing water not just to the urban, but also to the hinterlands to reduce the sufferings Enugu residents undergo in getting drinking water that will be fine.
“Then again there is issue of housing for the residents. Enugu is one of the states, one of the places that residents still pay very high amount in rent, so renting apartment in Enugu is very, very costly. So, if government can channel whatever extra funds they have into mass housing to give those who do not have the capacity or capability the opportunity to live in good houses that will also be fine.
“I don’t want to talk about other infrastructure, but housing and potable water, these are areas that I think the government can channel extra funds because residents here are undergoing a lot of difficulties in these two areas.”
Mrs Ogochukwu Agu, a woman leader from Awgu local government of the state said: “It is he who wears the shoes that knows where it pinches, they in the state government know their priority and the need of their state. But one would feel that they should address the issue of intervention, special intervention because of the removal of fuel subsidy. It is important that every state, apart from what the Federal Government is packaging, should have their own sort of intervention for the poor and workers because the inflation which is now at nearly 23 per cent, usually will affect the disposable income of even average worker and the masses.
“Again transportation cost, the cost food, the cost of other items, cost of school fees, very soon the wards will go back to school, so they have to address provision of different types of palliatives while waiting for that of the Federal Government. In fact, they should address the issue of transportation, the Lagos State government has led the way and some other states that acquired buses and reduced the cost of intra-city transportation, so these are the immediate intervention. They should prioritize their programmes and projects. In releasing money they should prioritize those areas that will bring immediate succour to the people.”
On state government part, though no official could speak on what government intends to do with the extra funds, Sunday Sun gathered that Governor Peter Mbah has inaugurated two committees – Palliative Committee and Committee on Verification and Payment of Outstanding Pensions and Gratuities to State Retirees – all geared towards cushioning the effects of subsidy removal and to raise the purchasing power of the vulnerable citizens of the state.
Mbah had said while inaugurating one of the committees that, “it is, therefore, the state government’s policy to ensure that we put in place measures – immediate, short, medium, and long-term measures – that address the impact of the removal of fuel subsidy.
“For us in Enugu State, we believe that the best way to achieve that is to ensure that our vulnerable ones, our retirees, have access to funds to buy things and maintain a reasonable and dignifying standard of living.”
