A former governorship aspirant in Lagos State, Chief Jimi Agbaje, said that palliatives sharing for the vulnerable should be determined by states and local government instead of the Federal Government.
The Peoples Democratic Party chieftain aired his opinion while fielding questions from the press.
He explained that the apex government cannot determine the poor and vulnerable in states to be given palliative, according to the Independent.
Agbaje maintained that it is only the state and local government that are much closer to the people and can determine the poor and vulnerable to be alleviated.
“For people in the low cadre, you can talk of giving them palliatives such as money and food items, but how do you identify the right people? Are you giving them to politicians, or the middle-class people, which is the reason I said the structure we run is not the best? How can Abuja determine those who need support in the grassroots?
” It should be the local governments and the states that should determine that. They would be able to identify those that are at the lowest rung of the ladder so that they can survive in terms of food, healthcare and transportation.
“The bulk of our transportation system in Nigeria is in private hands and it’s dependent on fuel that is not at a stable price.
“So, it is left for the government to see how to ameliorate this, which is why we talk about CNG busses. The biggest difference between us and some other countries is that they have more of mass transit that is immune to this kind of problem that we have. We should look at food, transportation and while you are making the corrections on the economy and reducing inflation, you must know that the people must eat.
“They must have transportation and the country should be secure, which is very important. We should look at food, and transportation, while they are making corrections on the economy, foreign exchange and inflation. If the country is not secure, nothing will work.”
