Millions of Nigerians continue to lament the insensitivity of the government to their plight as recent reports reveal the approval of foreign exchange subsidy for Hajj pilgrims by the Tinubu-led government.
Barely nine months after abruptly discontinuing petrol subsidy payments for hundreds of millions of suffering Nigerians, President Tinubu allegedly approves subsidy payments for Hajj travelers, in a move many describe as the height of insensitivity and misplaced priorities on the path of the government.
The report follows another circulating document revealing a N24 Billion subsidization approval of the 2023 annual Muslim prayer tour to Saudi Arabia funneled through the office of the nation’s vice president, Kasim Shettima.
While spokespersons to the government have come out to deny the viral receipts, many are skeptical of the plea for ignorance given the antecedents of a government which approved N16 billion for imported bullet proof cars last August.
Now with a 4% MPR rate hike and a 12.5% increase (from 32.5% – 45%) of bank’s cash reserve ratio, Nigerians are expected to experience more suffering with harder access to cash and more expensive loan options. Under the direction of President Tinubu, the nation’s central bank (CBN) is shifting an unbearable brunt of economic suffering on already impoverished Nigerians while ignoring endless clamour to cut cost of governance and tackle crippling corruption in its crude exports.
As Nigerians brace up for another round of austerity, the Nigerian government is strongly advised against reckless spending on non-economic frivolities like Hajj pilgrimage. President Tinubu must show a firm commitment to improving citizen welfare, not by ephemeral non-transparent conditional cash transfers, but by the restoration of subsidies which is an equitable means of distributing alleviations effectively.
