Tinubu bows to pressure, orders review of N8,000 palliative

President Bola Tinubu has ordered a review of his administration’s plan for a monthly N8,000 transfer to 12 million of the poorest households in the country for six months, in a bid to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.

The plan was contained in a letter read last Thursday on the floor of the House of Representatives regarding the $800 million loan request of the previous Muhammadu Buhari administration for a social safety net programme.

The President’s Special Adviser on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, in a statement on Tuesday, noted that the cash programme was not the only item in the relief package initiated by Tinubu.

According to him, Tinubu directed “that the N8,000 conditional cash transfer programmed envisaged to bring succour to most vulnerable households be reviewed immediately”.

He added that “this is in deference to the views expressed by Nigerians against it.”

The President also directed that the entirety of the government’s palliative package be unveiled to Nigerians, while ordering the immediate release of fertilisers and grains to approximately 50 million farmers and households respectively in all the 36 states and the FCT.