N5Bn Subsidy Palliatives, Not For Civil Servants Only, Comrade Agberen Tells Oborevwori

By Daniel Dafe

Comr. (Amb.) Derrick Oritsematosan Agberen has said that civil servants should not be the only beneficiaries from the N5Bn subsidy palliative given to states by the Federal Government, saying the palliative is not for civil servants alone.

He said this in a statement on Wednesday.

Agberen who commended the State Governor, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, for the steps, taken to approve the payment of ten thousand naira to each of the fifty thousand one hundred and ninety six (50,196) personnels in the State Public Service, including employees of the ten higher institutions in the State for the next three months as part of measures to cushion the effect of the fuel subsidy removal on civil servants, also applauded him for approving the recent policy of workers from salary grade levels one to fourteen to run shifts, with the first batch, working from Monday to Wednesday; and the second one, working from Thursday to Friday every week.

In hod words, “these acts of responsiveness are soothing. However, the State Government needs to do more.”

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He continued: “Considering the selective show of concern by the State Government, I am wondering if the five billion naira (N5 billion) subsidy palliative, approved by the Federal Government for each of the states, is meant for only the civil servants. When the Federal Government made the plan public, it was lucidly stated that the five billion naira (N5 billion) was to help each State Government to procure food items for distribution, basically, to the poor and not just to the civil servants. The Delta State Government has failed to consider that the number of civil servants in the State is nothing, compared to the number of unemployed/vulnerable people whom are even more affected by the current depressive, economic state of the country.”

Continuing, he said: “The removal of the fuel subsidy has negatively affected the prices of goods and services, and everyone, not just the civil servants, pay for these goods and services which have stratospheric prices. The civil servants even live better lives than the unemployed, than most petty traders, than the old, and other less privileged Deltans. Why then is the government channelling the subsidy palliatives to the civil servants alone while ignoring the indigent? Are we treating a healthy nose and ignoring a sick eye?”

“The fuel subsidy removal has brought untold hardship on the people, and it has affected the standard of living, increasing poverty among families. Families can no longer afford three square meals and are also pondering about the demands that will accompany the imminent resumption of primary and secondary schools across the State. How will they cope with school fees? How will they cope with the requirements of a new session? It is a depressive time for most families,” be added.

According to him, “the State Government should demonstrate equal empathy,” just as he opined that the government should allow equal access to palliatives for everyone, living in the state.

He said further: “No doubt, the current hardship has pushed a lot of persons into committing crimes at various level: the girl child, for instance, merchandises her body to take care of her needs; and the boy child is gravely engaged in fraud, rituals, and other acts of depravity. The plights of Deltans are deteriorating, and abandoning a section of the State at this time is the apex of inhumanity.

“The Delta State Government can pay twenty thousand naira (N20,000) monthly to the unemployed/vulnerable people and poor families in the State for a stipulated period of time or procure food items for distribution to those families. This will mitigate the effect of the fuel subsidy removal that has brought nothing but pains and hopelessness on the people. Delta State is for all its inhabitants, not just for the civil servants.”