The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has faulted the distribution of palliatives to Nigerians amid the severe hardships facing the country, stating that such moves were undignifying and called on government to map out better plans to tackle the nation’s issues rather than rolling out palliatives.
Bishop Kukah and bags of rice to be distributed as palliative.
The hardship which came as a result of the removal of fuel subsidy, government’s floating of the Naira among other economic policies, have pushed the country’s inflation levels to a new high which has led to hike in the cost of living.
In response to the ensuing economic hardship, governments across levels have rolled out palliative measures including the distribution of food items to the vulnerable, to cushion the effect of the hardship in the country.
However, Bishop Kukah reiterated the fact that beyond palliatives, people just want to get their lives back and urged the government to end insecurity.
According to the cleric, his criticism of the palliatives being given to the masses most often don’t get to them, as a good part of the money allocated for such projects is always embezzled.
‘’ We need to see a much more robust programme designed by the government to help us go away from just lining up and collecting palliative when we are not at war’’.
‘’I think it is the height of indignity to see Nigerians lining up every day under the sun and waiting to collect bags of rice which probably never come not because money has not been given but because everybody who gives out money in Nigeria from the Federal Government knows that a good part of the money is always stolen. Nigerians are not looking for handouts’’.
