The Kaduna government says it plans to distribute palliatives as well as offer free transportation and healthcare assistance to the state’s residents as a response to the hardship brought about by the naira scarcity. 

In a press release on Tuesday by Muyiwa Adekeye, Special Assistant to Governor Nasir El-Rufai, the state government said it was aware of the suffering residents of Kaduna were going through due to lack of access to the country’s currency.  

The statement noted that “The Security Council took recommendations on ways of mitigating the impact of cash shortage on citizens.

“The measures are designed to provide a measure of immediate relief to problems caused by the lack of cash by citizens to pay for services like transportation, health care, and necessities like food. 

“The Council therefore adopted these three emergency palliative measure to last for a week, starting from Wednesday, 22nd February.

“Kaduna State Government will provide free transport services along designated routes in Kaduna, Kafancha and Zaria, the three biggest cities in the state. This will be done in partnership with the transport unions, who will provide the busses and tricycles. 

“The Kaduna State public health system will offer free routine care in government hospitals for common illnesses like malaria and typhoid. This is in addition to the free care for pregnant women and children younger than five years that has been government policy since 2015. 

“Prescription will be given, and the health facility visited will administered drugs, if available. Provision of palliatives, as was done during the response to the Covid 19 outbreak,” the statement added. 

Kaduna and other state governments of the ruling All Progressives Congress, have since February 1, opposed the naira redesign policy, which is the main cause of the current naira scarcity.