Members of Nigeria’s House of Representatives have speedily approved the request of President Bola Tinubu to devote N500bn as palliatives for Nigerians.
The request was sent to the House on Tuesday and approved on Thursday.
The House of Reps announcing the approval on its official Twitter handle, said, “Reps back Tinubu on subsidy removal, approve president’s N500bn request for palliatives.
“The House of Representatives has approved the sum of N500 billion for the Federal Government to roll out palliatives, following the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said 12m families will get N8, 000 over a period of six months to ameliorate the hardships faced by Nigerians as a result of subsidy removal.
In a letter to the House of Representatives read by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during plenary on Tuesday, Tinubu said it was support to enable poor and vulnerable Nigerians cope with the cost of meeting basic needs.
The letter was for approval of additional financing for the national social safety net programme scaled up by the National Assembly.
He said this would have a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals.
In order to guarantee the credibility of the process, he said digital transfers would be made directly to beneficiaries’ accounts.