The African Democratic Congress (ADC) said the Federal Government’s $1 billion social protection programme is vote buying by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in disguise.

The ADC in a statement by the National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, noted that the programme is coming few months to the 2027 presidential election, but told the APC that Nigerians are not too cheap.

According to the party, the APC-led Federal Government is in a panic mood, after its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar announced plan to introduce targeted production subsidy in order to bring down the cost of living, if elected, and described the ruling party’s sudden discovery of compassion on Nigerians, as quite remarkable.

“For three years, Nigerians have cried under the weight of food prices, transport costs and collapsing purchasing power, while this government insisted that there was no money to cushion the effects of its reforms,” the party noted.

It woundered why the APC could suddenly dole out $1 billion protection fund to the poor, as election is approaching but had remained indifferent to their suffering for three years.

The party however said the relief package is an admission by the Tinubu government that Nigerians now require protection from the economic shocks associated with its failed reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidy.

“This is precisely what our presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has been saying in proposing a targeted production subsidy to bring down the cost of living,” ADC said.

It wondered why the administration waited until Atiku’s widely accepted plan to remember that economic reforms must protect human beings.

“Nigerians will not forget that President Tinubu’s ill-conceived and terribly executed reforms have made their lives a living hell.

“They will not forget that under Tinubu, economic reforms mean seven out of 10 Nigerians have found it difficult to feed themselves.

“No amount of palliative, by whatever fancy names they are called, will make them forget this painful period,” the party added.

According the ADC, the $1 billion intervention is nothing but “a political programme by a government desperate to show something as the election approaches after spending three years getting richer while the people get poorer.”

The party stated that a government whose so-called reform has destroyed purchasing power through higher food, fuel, transport and energy costs, “cannot now return with a one-off N40,000 per family, which it cynically tagged ‘shock-response payment.’

“This makes one to wonder if this is not indeed a vote-buying programme.”

The ADC wondered the role of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, in the intervention programme, and described as strange that “an unelected, and therefore unaccountable individual, is launching a social intervention programme involving $1 billion in the name of the Federal Government.”

ADC also disputed the claim by the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, that more than N600 billion has already been disbursed in cash transfers over the last three years, to about 10 million households, and demanded evidence of the beneficiaries.

The party stated that the Federal Government’s claimed social intervention programmes in Nigeria, had been questioned by both local and international agencies “due to lack of robust, verifiable social register and mismanagement due to corruption.”

Please follow and like us: