A sociologist, Prof. Lai Olurode, has urged the Federal Government to control inflationary trends undermining the effectiveness of social protection programmes.
Olurode, a retired Professor of Sociology at the University of Lagos and a national commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, gave the advice in an interview on Saturday in Lagos.
He spoke against the background of President Bola Tinubu’s plan to expand the National Safety Net Project to provide targeted cash transfers to poor and vulnerable households.
According to him, expanding and voting more budgetary allocation to social protection is the way to go.
“But again you must make sure that there is a kind of control on the inflationary trend so that we don’t just put money in their pocket and they are not really able to access the good life,’’ Olurode said.
The professor commended the President for his approach to resolving the poverty collandrum, saying, for it to have effect, the methodology must be right.
Citing the World Bank agenda of making sure that the university pays for the imposition of school fees regime, liberalisation of education, ensuring there’s cost recovery in education, Olurode advised the government to balance these policies in order not to make the poor poorer than they were before.
He urged the government to provide subsidies for education to ensure that children from poor families have access to education.
He said, “One of the ways by which the government can make sure the children of the poor have access to petroleum resources, oil rent, is through subsidies in the share of education.
“With subsidy removal in the area of energy, you know what it means, that is a devaluation of whatever you have in your bank, whatever you hold as your income by more than 50 per cent. It’s been very excruciating for the ordinary people.
“Those who have plenty of Naira don’t care, they can afford to buy a dollar to N2, 000. Those who are parliamentarians are not affected and touched by harshness of some of these policies.’’
Olurode also urged the President and his team to be realistic in terms of monetary policies while also ensuring social protection for the poor.
“With the inflationary trend, you are taking the money back, in fact you are taking more back with the hike in fuel and other basic social services like electricity.
“So, the President should do whatever he and his team can to ensure that Nigerians are not poorer under this regime,’’ he stressed.
