Senate President
OpenLife Nigeria reports that as Nigerians continue to grapple with the rise in the cost of living, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, have openly admitted that hardship is hitting Nigerian citizens.
Both leaders spoke separately at events in Abuja on Monday.
Only recently, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) warned that insecurity and economic hardship are eroding the ideals on which Nigeria was founded.
In a statement to mark the country’s 65th Independence Anniversary on October 1, the Christian religion body cited poverty, unemployment, and the lack of access to healthcare, education, and electricity as major setbacks for Nigerians.
The group lamented that the gap between government policies and the realities of citizens continues to widen.
On security, CAN said Nigerians live in fear amid terrorism, banditry, kidnappings, and communal violence.
The association noted that thousands of innocent Nigerians have been displaced by bandits and terrorists, and decried the weakening of the nation’s currency and poor economic decisions.
“The dignity of human life is being eroded by the daily struggle for survival,” CAN lamented.
Remedy
The Senate President Akpabio therefore, called on citizens to hold state governors and local government chairmen accountable for the effective utilisation of increased revenue allocations.
He urged sub-national governments to translate higher statutory allocations into tangible development, improved livelihoods, and job creation.
On his part, Prof. Yilwatda said Nigerians must begin to demand people-oriented projects from their state and local governments, given the huge fiscal inflows now accruing to them.
Yilwatda said, “No governor in Nigeria collects less than three times, up to four times what they used to collect before — none. Who knows that two years ago, there was a sharing of about N400bn per month—but today, the last sharing they did was N2.2tn.
“So, they can do more for their people. No governor collects less than three times— none. They are focusing now on bigger projects. And to me, this is a turnaround that we need in governors. I would say, talk to your governors. Talk to your local government chairmen. Let them do more.”
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