Subsidy removal: Activist, Israel Joe reacts to FG’s N5,000 to Nigerians

A human rights activist, Comrade Israel Joe, has slammed the Federal Government over its purported N5,000 to poor Nigerians as it plans to remove subsidies from petroleum products.

In a statement sent to Newsmen on Wednesday, Joe said the Federal Government cannot provide good meals for its citizens based on the inflations and the rising rate of foodstuffs in the market yet it wants to pay N5,000 to poor Nigerians as allowance.

Joe said what Nigerians needed the most is “credible leadership.”

While noting that the Federal Government had severally debunked allegations of still paying subsidy, Joe said, “It’s unfortunate that they are never true to their words.

“While we support subsidy removal which is one of the biggest scams in the country, we urge the Federal Government to maximize its oil sector to make a meaningful impact in the lives of Nigerians.

“We do not have working refineries neither do we have good modular refineries and all these boomerangs on Nigerians.”

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, had on Tuesday announced that the government would pay 40 million Nigerians N5,000 each as transport grant to cushion effects of subsidy removal.