TheCable

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says his administration is considering using the N5 billion earmarked to cushion the effect of petrol subsidy removal, on food and transportation.

The sum was given to the FCT and states as loans and grants. Some states have confirmed the receipt of N2 billion out of N5 billion.

Speaking after a closed-door meeting with contractors on Monday in Abuja, Wike said FCT was initially not included in the disbursements.

He said the FCT was later added to the list of beneficiaries after he wrote to President Bola Tinubu.

“We are yet to decide on what to do with the N2 billion palliative. We have not chosen any area yet,” he said.

“Are we going to concentrate on food? But we are thinking that the issue of transportation is very, very important, particularly the urban mass transit.

“People would like to have easy transportation to go to where they want to go, and if you give them rice and they eat the rice today, what about transportation tomorrow?

“So, we have not come up with what we are actually going to use the money for, but I believe food support and transportation is very key.”

The minister said the administration is working to enhance public transportation in the nation’s capital to ameliorate the suffering of commuters.