The Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to extend a similar financial intervention that was released to Lagos State to all other states of the federation.
The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, demanded that the Central Bank of Nigeria should open an arrangement with commercial banks for the suspension of charges for use of Automated Teller Machine cards and low amount mobile fund transfers as part of the panacea for ease the burden of poor Nigerians during the COVID-19 lockdown.
He said, “In the same vein, our party urges the Federal Government to activate a similar social sustenance scheme to immediately defray electricity tariff, particularly in areas populated by low income and vulnerable Nigerians across the country within the period of the lockdown.
“The PDP calls on the Federal Government to show compassion on suffering Nigerians whose means of subsistence have been crippled by the lockdown, and immediately provide funds to electricity distribution companies to actuate the tariff suspension within this period.”
According to him, the PDP is worried that the FG has so far allegedly failed to reach most vulnerable Nigerians, whose survival directly depends on daily income in the markets, shops and streets, and who have been crippled by the COVID-19 lockdown.
He said Buhari should also take immediate steps to end the alleged corruption in his regime’s social intervention scheme, through which palliative funds meant for Nigerians were allegedly being frittered by officials.
Ologbondiyan said, “Our party charges the FG to open up on the billions of naira so far donated by private individuals, firms as well as donor agencies and immediately constitute an Eminent Nigerians Group drawn from the private sector to manage the fund to eliminate corruption, bureaucratic and political bottlenecks.”