NGO asks media to monitor disbursement of N185bn palliative by states

By Abubakar Yunusa

The Naija Times Journalism Foundation (NTJF), a non-profit organisation, said there is a need for the media to monitor the N185 billion palliative to be distributed across the states.
NTJF in a statement said media monitoring is necessary to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of the N5 billion per state and the federal capital territory (FCT) palliative fund recently announced by the federal government.
The foundation noted that past attempts by the government to alleviate the sufferings of poor Nigerians through palliatives were undermined due to weak media oversight.
Ehi Braimah, chairman of the foundation, said previous facilities and initiatives that the government tried to implement through the state governors failed, adding that they should serve as lessons.
“If this palliative being released is to make any impact, there is a need for serious planning and monitoring of how the funds will be spent,” the statement reads.
“In the aspect of monitoring, the media and journalists should show more interest in reporting whether the benefits of these funds are reaching the ordinary people or not.
“Without such media oversight, the disbursements we are talking about will simply go the way of similar interventions in the past.”
Braimah said with the level of poverty in the country, governors and other political leaders should not ruin current efforts to bring relief to the people.
“As things stand, the level of hunger in the land has become deeply troubling, while the hardships have become unbearable,” Braimah said.
“To avoid hunger-induced protests, the deprivation across the country must be addressed urgently and purposefully.”