Subsidy removal: We’ll protect palliatives for suffering masses – Kogi Assembly Majority Leader Abdulrasaq assures

The Kogi State House of Assembly has vowed not to allow any individual hijack palliatives meant for residents to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal.

The Majority Leader and member representing Okene Town, Hon. Suleiman Abdulrazaq, disclosed this while fielding questions from correspondents in Lokoja on Friday.

He noted that the Assembly is aware of the hardship Kogites are facing due to fuel subsidy removal, stressing that what led to the EndSARS protest in 2020 started from the issue of palliatives.

“You would recall how the EndSARS saga started here in Nigeria. It is something we can’t forget in a hurry. It started with palliatives issues, where people were looking for what to eat and feed their families. They were scampering around to see how they could get palliatives in the previous administration. This led to the vandalism of various institutions of government and private businesses. We must not allow such to happen again.

“President Tinubu has assured us in his broadcast that a lot of palliatives will be distributed to citizens. As lawmakers, we are engaging with the executive arm of government to ensure that a relevant committee is set up, which would include all relevant stakeholders, Civil Societies, including the media for effective distribution of the palliatives. Our aim is to ensure that any palliatives that are coming to Kogi State get to the people that are supposed the benefit from it to avoid a repeat of what happened in the past,” he said.

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He seized the opportunity to speak on the suspension of Ibaji Local Government Chairman, William Iko-Ojo, saying the accused will face the full wrath of the law if found guilty.

Newspot recalled that Iko-Ojo was suspended on Thursday by Kogi State House of Assembly members over allegations of misappropriation of public funds, security threat, gross misconduct and abuse of office.

“We are going to give the Chairman a fair hearing about the allegations against him. All we are doing now is to ensure that he steps aside while investigation is ongoing. If he is innocent, definitely he will be restored, but if otherwise, he will be made to face the full wrath of the law,” Abdulrazaq stated.