The Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Dr. Sam Amadi, has said the sharing of N800 billion to the poor is a façade for embezzlement of public funds.
Amadi said it’s illogical to share N5, 000 monthly as a poverty reduction strategy to cushion the the effects of subsidy removal.
In statement via his Twitter handle on Monday, Amadi said the whole scheme is an avenue to embezzle public finance.
Recall that the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed that the country had secured a World Bank facility worth $800 million.
According to her, the $800 million is the first tranche of palliatives to be disbursed through cash transfers to about 50 million Nigerians, who belong to the most vulnerable category in the society, ahead of the planned subsidy removal.
Meanwhile, Amadi said someone might be planning to have a monetized send-off for herself, allegedly referring to an unnamed government official.
He wrote: “Why do you want to share N800b to the poor who receive N5000 as a poverty reduction strategy? Is that a sensible palliative for multiple impacts of subsidy removal? Is someone planning to have a monetized send-off for herself? There’s no logic here but to embezzle public finance.”