By Lateef Taiwo
The Senator representing Nasarawa South, Mohammed Onawo has said he is not in opposition to destroy his country, but to offer alternative views that will bring rapid socio-economic development.
Onawo stated this while speaking with some journalists on the recent subsidy removal on premium motor spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol.
“If there is a government that comes up with any positive policy that will touch the lives of my people, I’m with them, but to come and say you want to start giving people N8,000, no! The N5,000 they shared, none entered my village until the thing finished”.
According to him, the removal of fuel subsidy was done with good intention, but “it was ill timed”.
“They said we were losing N400 billion monthly on subsidy and the palliative they are coming with is N500 billion to share N8,000 to 12 million people. How did they come about this figure of 12 million people? Is it on pro-rata basis by population per state or how?
“The N5,000 that was used for campaign as palliative, which was shared in markets as trader moni, where is the data? Who are the people that benefited from it? If we are going the same way, may be they are beginning to campaign for 2027 now with the N8,000. It is not sensible at all.
“The best thing to do, if it is for palliative, to solve the problem that the removal of fuel subsidy has created, why not think of something that will reduce hardship, especially as it concerns transportation.
“What stops the Federal Government to say, ok we have N500 billion we want to use for palliative. Let’s use this N500 billion to buy 2,500 buses. If you divide N500bn by N20m for 18 seater bus, it will buy 2,500 buses. If you divide 2,500 buses by 774 local governments , each LG will get 32 buses. There will be over 240 buses still remaining.
He said in the course of this, you will find that jobs will be created. With these 32 buses, each LG automatically creates 64 jobs i.e driver and conductor. Then look at the multiplier effects – mechanics, water sellers, etc will benefit from it.
He said perhaps, there are some states that don’t have 10 vehicles in their public transport fleet, but each LG will get 32 buses. There will be secretary, accountant, etc. In the long run you will have created 100 jobs, taking people off the streets and the transport cost would have been reduced.
“Instead of saying you are giving N8,000 to people, if you take N8,000 to the market today, what will you buy? May be pure water and pure water is coming up. So, if this is truly intended to help people, not to enrich the richer people, then the government will have to ha a rethink of what to do with this money”.
The senator said his people have sent him back to the National Assembly after he has been in the House of Representatives for 8 years because they saw how he “positively touched their lives in different ways and they have sent me back probably to do more than what I had done”.
“I’m here for quality representation, legislations that will touch their lives positively I’m not going to be here to support any legislation that will put peanuts on their tables, whatever we are going to do with my colleagues for the next four years are those things that will generally touch their lives and change the lives of Nigerians.
He promised to introduce a bill for a law to create a solid minerals development commission that will bring about the unification and improvement of solid minerals in Nigeria.
According to him Nigeria is a very rich nation naturally, adding that God has endowed us with almost everything but the way we are harnessing it is what is making our people poor by the day.
“We allow foreigners come, go to our localities, start mining without regards to the laws of the land and they take away millions on a daily basis, they go to our local governments, give our local chiefs 5,000 dollars, 10,000 dollars and they look at it as a lot of money”.
“Some of these things should be mined and processed here. When that is done our people are going to be better for it, employment will be created, there will be value addition. Above all, when these things are mined, our lands should not be left degraded, you will see particularly Chinese, go to every part of this country today mining without recourse to the laws of the land and when they finish getting what they are looking for, they disappear and there is no law that is holding anyone of them responsible”, he lamented.
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