Tinubu’s N2bn Palliative: Governors Given 7-Day Ultimatum to Disclose Spending Details

Nigeria’s 36 state governors have been given a 7-day deadline to explain how the N2 billion package they recently got from the federal government will be used, or they risk legal repercussions.

To lessen the impact of eliminating the fuel subsidy, the Federal Government announced in August a N5 billion palliative package for each state of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The Federal Government only issued N2 billion of the N5 billion loan it gave to each state as a palliative to mitigate the impact of subsidy reduction, according to Wale Edun, Minister of Finance, on Friday.

However, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) requested the Nigerian governors to provide specifics regarding the use of the palliative that they had received from Abuja in a statement on Sunday, September 10, 2023.

Kolawole Oluwadare, the group’s deputy director, encouraged each state to

“disclose details on spending of the N2 billion palliative recently disbursed to each state by the Federal Government, including the names of beneficiaries and details of the reliefs so far provided with the money.”

“It is in the public interest to publish the details on spending of the N2 billion palliative and any subsequent disbursement of funds to your government,” the statement read.

“Nigerians have the right to know how their states are spending the fuel subsidy relief funds. It is part of their legally enforceable human rights.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and your state to comply with our request in the public interest.”