The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, has described President Bola Tinubu’s plan to give N8,000 to 12 million households for six months as an attempt to divert public funds.

The Star had reported that the Senate, on Thursday, July 13, 2023, approved the request of President Tinubu to obtain a loan of $800 million from the World Bank to finance the National Safety Net Programme of the Federal Government.

Tinubu noted that the Federal Government will transfer N8,000 monthly to 12 million poor Nigerians and low-income people for a period of six months.

Reacting to the development, Atiku, in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Phrank Shaibu,  on Thursday, said the president’s plan to spend $800 million on palliatives was reminiscent of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s conditional cash transfer and COVID-19 intervention initiative which saw politicians keeping food items and provisions in their homes while the poor went hungry.

He said Buhari’s interventionist programme only ended up making Nigerians poorer as shown in reports released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Atiku’s aide stated: “After announcing the removal of petrol subsidy without proper planning, Tinubu has asked for the approval of $800 million loan which he claims will be disbursed to 12 million households for six months at N8,000 for each household per month. This is a continuation of the scam of the All Progressives Congress.

“According to statistics, a Nigerian household as at 2019 counted on an average of 5.06 members.

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“So, with Tinubu’s uninspiring plan, each individual in a household will get N1,600 per month or N53 per day. What should they do with it? Use the money to buy sachet (pure) water or a cup of boiled groundnut on a daily basis? And this is the man they claim transformed the economy of Lagos State? This must be a joke or a more sinister attempt to divert public funds.”

Shaibu noted that Tinubu lacked a clear economic policy apart from taxing Nigerians.

He added: Tinubu boasted that he would ‘develop Nigeria’s economy’ like that of Lagos but this was all a scam. Statistics show that over 70 per cent of Lagos revenue comes from income tax paid by private companies which had been in Lagos for decades due to its status as Nigeria’s former capital.

“His only plan is to tax Nigerians to death as he did in Lagos and that is why the people of Lagos rejected him in the last election.

“Tinubu promised to turn Nigeria’s economy into a $1 trillion economy but it is all a scam and can never be achieved with his brand of ‘agberonomics’.”

Shaibu said Tinubu ought to have focused on putting money into the agricultural sector and subsidising production and working at attaining energy security that is the backbone of spurring desired economic growth from SMEs “if he was really serious about reviving the economy”.

Atiku’s aide said: “Agriculture makes up about 30% of Nigeria’s GDP. He should have invested funds in the production aspect of agriculture and other issues affecting crop yields. The rural areas which are mostly agrarian are in the throes of insecurity.

“On Tinubu’s watch, over 200 people have so far been killed. However, he seems clueless on how to tackle this menace.

“The so-called palliatives that Tinubu seeks to share to the poor are just another avenue to divert public funds.

“For years, the Nigerian government has rejected calls to publish the list of the beneficiaries of the so-called palliatives but this has never been done because it is all a scam.

“Tinubu should stop trying to deceive Nigerians who are still suffering from the effect of his lackluster economic policies.”

The Star