The Nigerian Senate President, Senator Godwin Akpabio has stated that all the 36 state governors in the state have received additional N30billion from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to tackle the food scarcity situation in the country.
The Senate President who said this during one of the plenary sessions of the federal lawmakers described the several protests held in some major cities in the country against rising hunger and hardship as sponsored by political stakeholders.
Akpabio added that the newly released funds for the state governors are different from their monthly allocation and urged them not to divert the funds for another course different from solving foodstuff scarcity.
He said, “We can see a lot of protests here and there, most of those sponsored protests are not aware of the kind of efforts being made by this senate to tackle the situation together with a joint management team of the federal republic of Nigeria. I must say that unverified report has it that each of the state government in the last few months has received additional N30billion from Federal Inland Revenue Service, outside their normal allocation from the federation account to assist them in ameliorating the food situation, we believed that every state government should utilise the funds so received towards ensuring that food is available.
“This Senate will not rubber stamp anything that will feel is not with the interest of Nigeria,” he added.
SaharaReporters reported how residents of Ibadan in Oyo State on Monday morning blocked major roads to protest against the economic hardship caused by the policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The protest began in Ibadan’s Mokola area, and the protesters, mostly youths, barricaded the Mokola under-bridge and the Queen Elizabeth Road.
Earlier this month, SaharaReporters reported how similar protests were held in Minna and Suleja, the commercial nerve centres of Niger State.
The angry protesters had called on President Tinubu’s government to end the hardship and unbearable inflation in the country.