The House of Representatives has pledged to effectively oversight the implementation of palliative programmes to ensure maximum benefits to Nigerians.
The spokesman for the house, Rep. Akin Rotimi, made the pledge in a statement on Tuesday following the nationwide broadcast by President Bola Tinubu. According to the statement, the house commends Tinubu for announcing palliatives aimed at alleviating the adverse economic effects resulting from the removal of fuel subsidy.
The statement empathised with Nigerians whom it stated had been distressed due to the gap between the removal of the subsidy and the implementation of palliative measures. It expressed optimism that the policies and initiatives announced by the President would be expedited to bring succor to the people.
“I assure all Nigerians that the house will be alive to the constitutional obligation to effectively monitor all entities of government responsible for the deployment of the palliative measures.
“On our part in the House of Representatives, we will closely monitor every agency of government that will be involved in the implementation, to ensure speedy delivery, equitable distribution, and transparency.”
The statement recalled that on July 13, the house approved the request presented by Tinubu for the amendment of the 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act. It said that the amendment was to extract ₦500 billion from the budget for palliatives to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy.
“The house commends Tinubu for his interventions in the manufacturing sector via support for small and medium scale enterprises.
“The house commends the plan to work with the state governments to invest in critical social and economic infrastructure and to deploy 3,000 commuter buses, amongst other measures.
“The integrated interventions would stimulate economic productivity, boost agriculture production, create jobs, and improve living conditions.
“The house also welcomes the planned upward review of the national minimum wage and will consider and approve once transmitted to the National Assembly by the presidency,” the statement added.