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COVID-19: FG cash sharing show in Anambra laughable, deceitful —Igbo group

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COVID-19: FG cash sharing show in Anambra laughable, deceitful —Igbo group

The sharing of money to some people in Anambra State, by the Federal Government on Wednesday, has been described as laughable, deceitful and a soured joke by a South-East group, the Igbo Renaissance Forum.

The Humanitarian Affairs Minister, Sadiya Farouq was said to have shared N20,000 to some people in the list she came with at Uli, Ihiala Local Government Area (LGA) of Anambra State on Wednesday.

Responding to the development in a statement by its International Coordinator, Nze Ugo-Akpe Onwuka (Oyi), the Igbo Renaissance Forum said it appreciated Farouq for taking the pains in this COVID-19 pandemic period to travel all the way to Uli just to ‘give cash’ to those who have their names on her list.

“We also want to quickly intimate the general public, the Federal Government of Nigeria and the South East political leaders that the ‘Cash Sharing Show’ spearheaded by the Minister for Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management in Uli, Anambra state was laughable on one hand and gingerly devious at the same time.”

The statement read in detail: “We were anxiously expecting the honourable minister, when she showed up at St Theresa’s Catholic Church Uli, in Ihiala LGA of Anambra State, yesterday 8th of April 2020, to really surprise us and make the visit worth its while, but unfortunately, even though not surprising, it was a sad anticlimactic episode.

“Even though the minister, Sadiya Umar Farouq stated expressly that the Federal Government has given instructions for two months advance of the monthly stipend under the NSIP Programme be paid to the poorest in the society, it is unfortunate that we didn’t see this happen on the ground, and we ask, WHY?.

“For the records, it is interesting to note that there is an outstanding four months arrears owed the people with their names on the list that was used for the disbursement in Uli yesterday.

“The arrears owed was what the honourable minister came to offset as twenty thousand naira (20,000) was given to the recipients at St Theresa’s Catholic Church Uli, in Ihiala local government area of Anambra state on Wednesday the 8th of April, 2020.

“Our question now is, ‘where is the two months advance as directed by the Federal Government?’.

READ ALSO: COVID-19: Abia extends lockdown by 7 days

“It is very clear from elementary arithmetic, that if twenty thousand naira was paid to people you already owing for four months at five thousand naira (5,000) monthly, it means that no palliative was offered to the recipients based on the COVID-19 pandemic stimulus package as claimed by the ministry in charge.

“We are therefore asking that the honourable minister to kindly and expeditiously ensure that these individuals get the balance of ten thousand naira (10,000), representing the cash for the two months in advance immediately, to help them through these tough times of lockdown and shutdown.”

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