Tinubu promises 12m families will receive N8,000 for six months

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu says about 12 million households will get N8,000 over a period of six months to ameliorate the hardships faced by Nigerians as a result of subsidy removal.

In a letter to the House of Representatives read by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during plenary on Thursday, Tinubu said it was designed to enable indigent and vulnerable Nigerian people to cope with the cost of meeting basic needs.

The letter waiting for approval of additional financing for the national social safety net programme scaled up by the National Assembly.

The President said this would have a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals.

In order to ascertain the credibility of the process, he said digital transfers would be made directly to beneficiaries’ accounts.

The President’s move was to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal which he announced on the day of his inauguration on May 29 in Abuja.

Vanguard recalled that the removal of fuel subsidy caused the prices of petrol products to jump over 200% and an increase in food prices and transportation.

But, in a letter sent to the House of Representatives, Tinubu asked that the 2022 Supplementary Appropriations Act be amended to provide N500 billion to fund palliative measures against the impact of fuel subsidy removal.

President Tinubu is seeking to extract N500 billion from the N819,536,937,813 supplementary budget.

The immediate past president Muhammadu Buhari introduced the supplementary budget in 2022 for capital projects due to the impact of the floods on farmlands and road infrastructure.

In a similar gesture to improve the living conditions of poor Nigerians grappling with the pangs of poverty caused by hardships, he also on Thursday, Tinubu wrote to the federal lawmakers seeking the approval of the Senate for a $800 million palliative loan from the World Bank.

“You may also wish to know that the purpose of the facility is to expand coverage of shock-responsive safety net supports for all and vulnerable Nigerians and the cost of meeting basic needs,” Tinubu said in the letter.

The President clarified that, “Under the conditional cash transfer window of the programme, the Federal Government of Nigeria will transfer the sum of N8,000 a month to 12 million poor and low-income households for a period of six months with a multiplying effect on about 60 million individuals.”

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J. Martins announces appointment as Abia gov’s Special Assistant on Entertainment

Popular singer and producer Martins Okey Justice, aka J. Martins, has been appointed as Special Assistant on Tourism And Entertainment to the Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti.

The ‘Cool Temper’ crooner announced the good news via his Twitter handle on Wednesday.

J. Martins wrote: “Greetings everyone. Got up early morning at 3 am with multiple calls and congratulations messages. I have been appointed as SA on Entertainment and Tourism to Abia State Governor.”

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Tinubu will appoint between 36, 42 ministers – Omisore

The National Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Iyiola Omisore said President Bola Tinubu will appoint between 36 and 42 Ministers. 

Omisore disclosed this while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He said, “The Constitution says a minister per state, that is 36 and one per zone making 42, at the prerogative of the President. So it can either make 36 minimum or 42 the highest.

“We are still consulting with the party, we are looking at the structure of the ministries. We are likely to structure the ministries to reflect Nigerians’ yearnings today, either merging some, rebranding some, naming some just to gather the agenda of Renewed Hope,” he said.

When asked if Tinubu will constitute a Government of National Unity with members of the opposition parties like ex-Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Omisore said the decision is at the President’s discretion.

He, however, noted that consultations between the President and the ruling party are ongoing regarding the final ministerial list.

Omisore said, “There are technocrats who are politicians too. Some of us, we are professionals. We read to the pinnacle of academics. So we are techno-politicos.

“By the time we look at the baskets together and what will pay Nigerians better, we can come out with a combined cabinet that you will be happy about,” he said.

The constitution mandates the president to appoint a minister from each state and one each from geo-political zones.

Recall that in his first term, former President Muhammadu Buhari appointed 36 ministers, but nominated 42 ministers when he was reelected in 2019.

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