House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency implement palliative measures to mitigate the effects of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians.
This was sequel to a motion of urgent public importance by a member from Kano state, Mr Sani Madaki at plenary.
The lawmaker expressed concern that the sudden fuel subsidy removal has left millions of Nigerians terrified, thus causing untold hardship as Nigerians grapple with the challenges of meeting up with, not only the high cost of petrol but also the consequent increase in the prices of goods and services;
He explained that in response to the resulting financial strain of the subsidy removal on public workers, some proactive State governments have introduced temporary measures to alleviate the situation by reducing work days from five to three days per week for the State-employed workers pending when other sustainable palliatives can be provided.
“The house is aware of a Presidential directive to put palliative measures in place to ameliorate the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians. But the federal government was yet to implement the palliative.
“The house is worried that since the removal of the subsidy, several protests have been recorded as citizens accuse the government of being insensitive to their needs.
Adopting the motion, the house mandated the Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity, when constituted to ensure compliance and report back within two weeks for further legislative action.
