Tinubu says he’s a ‘listening leader’ in halting N8,000 payments. Some see flip-flop

President Bola Tinubu says his decision to halt the transfer of N8,000 to millions of Nigerians pummelled by rising prices after the removal of fuel subsidy, shows he listens to complaints by citizens, many whom have derided his measly intervention amid growing suffering.

To some, however, the reversal shows the president’s policies are not well thought out, a risk for an administration trying to win back foreign investors.

“The FG is not thinking straight and (is) out of touch with reality,” lawyer Malcolm Omirhobo said of the review.

Mr Tinubu on Tuesday ordered a review of his government’s plan to provide N8,000 ($10) for six months to 12 million Nigerian households in the wake of a 240% increase in the price of petrol following his removal of fuel subsidy in May. Petrol now sells for N617 a litre in the capital Abuja.

The removal of subsidy and the devaluation of the naira have pushed Nigeria’s monthly inflation to its highest level in seven years, and have driven annual inflation to a near 18-year high of 22.8% in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

– Slow and measly

Many citizens have struggled to go to work and meet basic needs daily. The government’s response to the hardship has been slow and measly, drawing criticisms.

The N8,000 handouts come from a $800 million World Bank credit, and will go those the government calls the “poorest of the poor” or “most vulnerable”. More than 100 million people in Nigeria live in poverty, according to official data.

The government hasn’t yet explained how it plans to spend another N500 billion so-called “palliative”, although the administration has controversially authorised the release of N70 billion to federal lawmakers.

Mr Tinubu has also ordered the release of “fertilisers and grains to approximately 50 million farmers and households”, leaving questions how effective that would be to distraught citizens.

As criticisms mount, presidential spokesperson Dele Alake said on Tuesday that the president has ordered that the “whole gamut of palliative package of government be unveiled to Nigerians.”

Mr Alake spoke about “a lot of ill-informed imputations” about the N8,000 programme “by not a few naysayers,” and hoisted the president as “a listening leader who has vowed to always put Nigerians at the heart of his policy and programme”, and changed course after complaints.

“You will recall that the President took a similar decision after listening to complaints from the business community/stakeholders about burdensome taxes, particularly multiplicity of taxes they are made to experience. This warranted the signing of four (4) Executive Orders cancelling some classes of taxes, while suspending the implementation dates of others,” he said.

“I wish to assure Nigerians that President Tinubu will continue to be a listening leader whose ears will not be dull to the views expressed by the citizenry. The President believes government exists to cater for the interest of the people and he has demonstrated this so clearly.”

Not everyone is convinced though. Lawyer Abdul Mahmud, who has the Twitter handle, GreatOracle, said the reversal showed the president does not have a “policy position.”