Nigerians decry delay in provide of aid

By Olakunle Olafioye, Steve Agbota, Lagos and Nnamani Adanna, Abuja

Nigerians clearly want as many aid packages as the federal government is able to supply to them to outlive the rising starvation within the land. 

Such affords from the federal government haven’t solely been in restricted provide, however have additionally come extra as guarantees than outcomes from President Bola Tinubu whose authorities’s financial insurance policies have been blamed for the unprecedented poverty and starvation within the nation.

 

 

As a method of mitigating the hardship, the federal government prior to now months had introduced a sequence of insurance policies together with proposals for tax waiver on the importation of pharmaceutical merchandise and tools, Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption on a particular fundamental meals objects, sale of backed luggage of rice, first to most of the people, however later narrowed all the way down to civil servants, amongst a number of different guarantees.

But some months after the announcement of those aid packages, Nigerians say they’re step by step shedding hope on the guarantees.  The implementation of zero per cent responsibility and Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption on chosen fundamental meals objects was initially slated to run between July 15 and December 21, 2024. According to the rules, husked brown rice, grain sorghum, millet, maize, wheat, and beans are objects certified to learn from the coverage.

However, one month to the expiration of the tax moratorium on the importation of those meals objects, a market survey by Sunday Sun indicated that costs of those meals objects have remained on the rise, forcing most households to go deeper into distress and despondency. Although it was gathered that the delay being skilled within the implementation of the coverage was as a result of lack of ability of the Federal Ministry of Finance to publish the record of importers who’re certified to take part within the course of as required by the rules earlier issued by the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) in August, not just a few analysts are of the opinion that the coverage was initially conceived to stay within the realm of mere promise.

 A social analyst, Femi Shodipo famous that the truth that the guarantees had been made at a time when the federal government was going through critical threats of protest from Nigerians ought to have been discerned as a sign that the guarantees had been made to ease the strain at that interval.

According to Shodipo, “it was obvious from the outset that the government did not have any plan to ease the suffering of the masses. Rather they made those statements under duress when it was faced with the uncertainty of the loomimg protest at the time. Now that the government has succeeded in deploying its evil antics to cow the people into submission they feel they can now carry on with their wickedness of keeping the people in perpetual penury.”

An importer of wheat, Emeka Offor, lamented the failure of the federal government to carry the coverage to life months after it was introduced, describing the delay as unlucky.

 “It is unlucky that the coverage (which is supposed) alleviate the hardship of Nigerians is being carpeted by the Ministry of Finance months after it was introduced.

“How long will it take the ministry to implement the policy and give the Customs the directives to kick off the exercise? Up till now, the ministry has not been able to give the list of importers or companies who are qualified for this initiative. In the next few months, the period giving to the policy to operate will elapse. Our hopes are dashed already,” he mentioned.

In his personal response, the speedy previous President of the Shippers Association of Lagos, Jonathan Nicole mentioned it will be unlucky if the window elapsed with out Nigerians benefiting from the coverage.

He likened the hardship going through Nigerians now to that of the folks in struggle zones and opined that any coverage regarding meals importation wanted to be handled as an emergency. His phrases: “The hardship faced by Nigerians presently can be likened to what is seen in war zones. That is why we are calling for transparency in the implementation of the policy. The hand-picking of importers to bring in emergency food items should not be encouraged.”

Stakeholders within the pharmaceutical business are equally rising weary over the delay being skilled within the implementation of the proposed waiver as introduced by the federal government on pharmaceutical medication and tools.

President Bola Tinubu, based on the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, signed the manager order granting responsibility waiver on healthcare merchandise as a part of his administration’s transformative transfer to revitalize the nation’s well being sector.

The Minister who gave the data on his X deal with on Friday, June 28, had revealed that the gesture would lead to rising native manufacturing of healthcare merchandise, together with prescribed drugs, diagnostics, units corresponding to needles and syringes, organic, medical textile, and amongst others.

The announcement had elicited the hope that the excessive price of regionally produced prescribed drugs would ease the burden of the residents as it will crash the costs of medicine and different pharmaceutical merchandise.

 But greater than 4 months after the announcement, Nigerians are nonetheless battling with prohibitive prices of medicine with many resorting to unhealthy alternate options.

While the federal government introduced that the implementation of the coverage started final month, most stakeholders within the business mentioned there was no speedy pointer to that impact.

A pharmacist, Chinasa Ekezie informed Sunday Sun that there was no indication that the federal government was honest concerning the coverage from the outset.

“A policy was announced in June, but we cannot feel the impact almost four months after the announcement was made. I am aware that the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria has been unrelenting to see that the policy sees the light of the day, but from the government side, I can say it has been all talk no action because the prices of drugs and other pharmaceutical products are still going up on a daily basis,” he mentioned.

 At the tip of its National Council assembly in August in Uyo, the PSN President, Prof Cyril Usifoh restated that the physique was nonetheless trying ahead to a crash within the costs of medicine following the signing of the manager order by the president.

The PSN boss in a chat with newsman revealed that PSN had been having conferences with the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, on tips on how to deal with the challenges and chart the way in which ahead.

This is simply as some stakeholders have expressed the view that the coverage won’t produce the a lot desired outcome.

The Abuja department chairperson of PSN, Salamatu Orakwelu lately disclosed that because the waiver was merely on the importation of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, APIs, the anticipated crash in costs of medicine won’t be that noticeable.

“When you discuss of waiver, one factor is to say one thing, and one other factor is to implement it. The waiver granted was merely on the importation of a number of the lively pharmaceutical components, APIs, and medicines coming into the nation.

“If you’re talking about the local production of drugs because that is where you don’t have adequate infrastructure such as regular power supply, adequate water supply and other factors, that is where a special government intervention can make a difference. The waiver that has been given is not enough. It has not had any impact on the costs of medication even if it is supposed to,” she declared.

Similarly, forward of the August 1 nationwide protest, the Federal Government had hurriedly introduced a plan to roll out the sale of backed rice to Nigerians on the fee of N40, 000 per 50kg bag, however the promise would later evaporate after the protest was pissed off allegedly by the federal government.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, who made the announcement had disclosed that 10 vehicles of rice can be deployed to every state as a measure to deal with poverty and excessive price of dwelling. “At the final council assembly right here, we introduced that plenty of vehicles 20 exactly had been given to the state governors for onward distribution to those that are literally in want of them to the poorest of the poor in society and those that are literally in want, however the authorities didn’t cease there. There can be rice that’s being bought at about 50 per cent of its price, a bag of rice is being bought at N40, 000 as we communicate now.

 “The position of the FEC is that most of the demands that the protesters are making are actually being addressed by the Federal Government and, therefore, it is the view of the government that there is really no need for the protests again because most of those things that the protesters are putting forward are already actually been addressed or are being addressed by government and like we have said repeatedly, this is a listening government,” he mentioned.

But regardless of assurances of honest distribution and transparency, Nigerians throughout most states of the federation mentioned they may not entry the backed rice months after the announcement was made. At Yewa Egbado College, Ilaro, one of many designated shops for the sale of the backed luggage of rice in Ogun State, Sunday Sun gathered that almost all of civil servants and retirees who gathered on the venue to obtain the rice left the scene pissed off and upset.

 Reacting to the event, the organized labour expressed disappointment over the failure of the federal government to dwell as much as its quite a few guarantees together with the promise to provide CNG buses to cushion the impact of the hardship on civil servants.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) expressed their discontent by way of a telephone interview with Sunday Sun.

NLC Spokesperson, Benson Upah, informed Sunday Sun that, “we are yet to see the rice,  but you may specifically speak with public sector unions, but I doubt if anything has come yet.”

He confirmed that the Congress had acquired some CNG buses, however mentioned that they weren’t ample sufficient to make an influence.

Uche Ekwe, head of worldwide relations on the NLC, mentioned that whereas the federal government has delivered 35 CNG buses, the quantity is way from being ample to fulfill the wants of the nation’s workforce.

He additionally mentioned that insufficiency of CNG stations has been one other downside in deploying the buses, including that the federal government had already pledged to offer extra CNG filling stations, however has failed to take action.

According to him, “to this point, we’ve acquired 35 buses from the federal government, however the authorities made a promise that they might give us some kits, however they haven’t accomplished that.

“We have informed them to make extra provisions for CNG fueling stations, however they haven’t accomplished that. Because availability of the CNG for refueling is one other main challenge of concern. We wouldn’t have sufficient fueling stations throughout town, not to mention the entire nation.

“Secondly, 35 buses are little or nothing compared to the number of workers that are in Nigeria, even if we had to give each state one. They promised to give us more buses, but we are still waiting for them.”

Tommy Etim Okon, the nationwide deputy president of TUC, acknowledged that some authorities companies had acquired rice provides, and clarified that the distribution is managed by authorities companies, not unions.

He additionally confirmed that the Congress has acquired some CNG buses, however acknowledged that the present numbers are inadequate.

Okon referred to as on state governors to additionally spend money on making CNG buses out there of their numerous states to assist scale back transportation prices. He added that extra buses are anticipated by the tip of November because the Federal Government has promised to extend the quantity .

“To the very best of my data, some companies of the federal government have acquired. Because I believe it’s pay as you go, within the full glare of the ICPC and different safety companies of the federal government and it’s an ongoing course of. And no person is allowed to purchase two luggage.

“For the CNG buses, I’m equally conscious, it has been distributed, though it isn’t sufficient.

And from what we heard from the federal government, extra are being anticipated to flood the states. We have additionally mentioned that the governors must also key in to flood the streets of their states with CNG buses in different to crash the value of transportation and that’s ongoing so it’s anticipated that earlier than the tip of November, it will be totally on floor for not simply the employees, however for most of the people to have respite so far as transportation is anxious. So we’re trying in the direction of that.

“The rice distribution shouldn’t be being dealt with by the union. It is by the companies of presidency, just like the ministries and the extra-ministerial departments.

“But the CNG buses have equally been given to both TUC and NLC, and we are still expecting more and  it is also expected that, the state governors will also float. We are also expecting that the government agencies will be able to better float the streets, the roads with the CNG buses,” he mentioned.

Shehu Mohammed, president,  Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) additionally confirmed that the unions have gotten the CNG buses, noting that they may maintain a gathering to determine on how greatest to deploy them.