FG’s N50,000 monthly cash relief, election gimmick — ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has described the Federal Government’s N50,000 monthly cash relief as an election gimmick, saying it reflects desperation by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

Reacting on Saturday through its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the timing of the announcement raised questions about the government’s motives, claiming the intervention was a panic reaction to the opposition party’s promise to reduce the cost of living.

“President Tinubu is in full panic mode now. Since ADC and our Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have made affordability and reducing the cost of living cardinal focuses of our campaign, the government has been announcing one desperate intervention or another. In August, they announced a $1 billion so-called ‘Renewed Hope Social Intervention Fund’. But it was only an announcement, nothing more. Then, they announced a 30-day fuel discount, which made no sense. Then they announced so-called cheaper transportation by October 1 across states. Again, nothing happened. They have also announced a N70,000 transportation allowance for workers. Now, it is N50,000 for everyone. They are just thrashing around, hoping that something would stick,” Abdullahi said.

The party questioned what meaningful relief N50,000 could provide to the average Nigerian household under prevailing economic conditions.

“What exactly is N50,000 supposed to buy in Tinubu’s Nigeria today? How much food can a family purchase with that amount? How much transport can it cover? And for how long? Petrol prices have risen roughly sevenfold. Food and transportation costs have followed, not to talk of the cost of basic drugs. It is just a desperate and cynical attempt to buy back the goodwill of the people. But it is too little, too late,” the party said.

The ADC said the Tinubu administration had an opportunity to address the underlying causes of poverty but failed to do so.

“They mismanaged their own economic reforms. Everyone warned them that what they were doing and how they were doing it would only make life difficult for people. Their only reaction for three years was to tell people to continue to endure. If they could give N50,000 to vulnerable Nigerians, why didn’t they factor it into reform plans from day one rather than make it an election-season handout? It’s either they didn’t think of it, which makes them dangerously incompetent, or they simply chose to leave people to suffer and wait for the election to throw them crumbs, which makes them dangerously wicked,” it said.

The party warned that programmes such as the announced intervention fund had been characterised by a lack of accountability, posing a risk of diversion of public funds. It recalled a recent report by the Auditor-General that raised questions about similar funds under the Tinubu administration.

“What has happened to the findings of the Auditor-General concerning billions of naira in previous cash transfers that could not be properly accounted for? Have those responsible been held accountable? How can a government that has failed to explain what happened to its previous intervention funds expect Nigerians to trust it with another programme involving billions of naira?” the ADC asked.

It said that, given the history of social intervention programmes under the administration, the latest initiative raised concerns about transparency and the possible diversion of public resources for partisan purposes.

“At best, this is an election gimmick designed to deceive Nigerians into believing that a government which has neglected them for more than three years suddenly cares about their welfare. At worst, it could become another scheme to siphon public funds under the convenient cover of poverty alleviation,” the party said.

The ADC maintained that the solution to the cost-of-living crisis lay in restoring purchasing power and reducing the cost of food, energy and transportation.