A cross-section of stakeholders in Enugu has urged President Bola Tinubu’s regime to urgently provide palliatives for Nigerians to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal.

They made the call in Enugu on Tuesday while reacting to Mr Tinubu’s nationwide broadcast.

Some residents said they supported the fuel subsidy removal but regretted that the governments were not doing enough to alleviate the sufferings of the people occasioned by the policy.

Analysing the president’s speech, Tony Odukwe, a development expert, said the president spoke very well but added that he should back his plans with action.

According to him, Mr Tinubu should use the N1 trillion he saved from the subsidy removal to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerians by providing the necessary palliatives he mentioned in his address, like the provision of buses.

Mr Odukwe urged the president to ensure that the farmers’ grants got to genuine farmers and advocated that produce for exports should be processed before exporting to create jobs and wealth.

Other residents, Emma Ejim and Cyprian Okeke, who also called for immediate provisions of palliatives, said the distributions should be monitored to avoid diversions.

”It’s more than two months since the fuel subsidy was removed, and nothing has been done,” they stated. “People are hungry and suffering because of the consequences of the removal.”

They stressed the need to use part of the money saved to revive refineries in the country rather than refining crude outside the country.

A Journalist, Kenneth Oforma, said that the speech did not give a timeline for most of his palliative measures.

“All the plans for palliative are geared towards next year, and who knows what happens between now and next year. To me, the speech has not addressed the real problems,” stated Mr Oforma. “I believe it was just a ploy to destabilise the NLC and drop them from carrying out their planned protest.”

Bethel Okereke, marketing manager of the Sun Newspaper, said the speech was vague and not direct to the point.

Mr Okereke said the speech fell short of expectations from Nigerians, especially in palliatives.

“Giving students buses is no palliative because the NANS president will just be using the bus and what happens to the rest of the students,” he said.

Meanwhile, an Enugu-based businesswoman, Gladys Agueze, urged Nigerians to be patient with the present administrations at the state and federal levels to give them the benefit of the doubt.

”Let us be watching as things unfold. Our businesses are closed, and prices of food and transportation have skyrocketed, but we will survive. Let’s be patient,” Ms Agueze said. 

(NAN)