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By Iheanyi Chukwudi
The Archbishop of Enugu Province and Bishop of Enugu Anglican Diocese, Most Rev. Emmanuel Chukwuma has described as
insultive, disgraceful and a failure, the federal government’s fuel subsidy removal palliative package.
Chukwuma who spoke on Wednesday was provoked by the quality and quantity of the only item (rice) being distributed in Enugu state, stated that government is not sincere with the palliative arrangements.
The Archbishop who received the Independent Layout Ward 11 representatives who collected the ward’s palliatives from the Enugu North Local Government was shocked to see that what was given to them and indeed all the wards is only rice and that out of the 980 people that filled the form and submitted, only 193 bags of 20kg rice were given to the ward.
Expressing disappointment, the cleric wondered how a bag of 20kg rice would cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal for five families, describing the whole package as a fraud.
He said, “Having seen some of the bags of rice called palliatives for the people of Enugu state, we feel dejected and very much disappointed that even the 200 bags for each ward, that the local government chairman withdrew five bags from it.
“Two, how do you expect this type of palliative to cushion the effect of the subsidy for the people that you have raised their hope for palliative? Five persons per a 20kg bag of rice."
"So we are feeling that federal government palliative for Nigerians is insultive, is disgraceful and is a failure, is fraud and we completely reject it.”
“For me as Archbishop Chukwuma, I will not accept this type of rice as palliatives, is an insult to the people. And so I am calling on the federal government and state government to look into it properly, that this is not a palliative that can cushion anything at all.
It is a way of insulting the people, creating more hunger and we feel that if federal government is sincere, which I feel they are not sincere about the palliatives. This is the same thing Labour is talking about, is still what we are seeing now, insincerity of the government.
“The palliative is a disgrace, is a failure to cushion any effect of fuel subsidy removal. So for me I feel disappointed to see this type of rice which is already getting spoilt, to be distributed to human beings."
"Whoever is responsible should please come and withdraw it, we reject it and we cannot accept it, is a failure. Federal government palliative is a failure and not a sincere way of cushioning the effect of fuel subsidy removal for Nigerians.”
Earlier, one of those who went to the local government headquarters to bring the rice said, “We were called yesterday, all the wards in Enugu North, that we should come to Enugu North secretariat for the palliatives."
"We went there and they said that they will give each ward 200 bags of this rice which they said is 20kg. As they were sharing, after a while they said they should remove five bags from each ward by Council Chairman’s directive."
“In this Independent Layout Ward, that is Ward 11, in the form filled we are about 980 but what we collected is 193 bags of this 20kg rice. So when you now look at it if you divide 193 bags by the 980, it will be five persons for one bag. And that is all they gave us, just this rice as palliative.”
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