*Says mitigating effects of subsidy removal necessary for all Nigerians
By KEMI KASUMU
As New Islamic Year begins today Wednesday 1st Muharram 1445 A.H. equivalent to 19th July, 2023, the Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria (MMWGN) has tasked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to adopt another method different from transferring N8,000 to the vulnerable citizens for six months.
Rather, it said the President should categorise the beneficiaries of the largesse in a way that the proposed palliatives would impact positively on the the generality of the masses.
“Tomorrow (today) is 1st Muharram, 1445 AH (Wednesday) marking the Anniversary of migration of the Holy Prophet Muhammad from Makkah to Madinah as a result of the untold persecution of the muslims by the unbelievers in Makkah that time.
“To mark the Event, mass rally of muslims would be taking place in various States from tomorrow, where Lectures would be delivered on the importance Hijra in islamic history,” it said.
In a press statement released by the Media Group Tuesday 18th July and signed by the National Coordinator the organisation, Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, it stated that large number of Nigerian citizens favours provision of transport facilities to the people, stemming the tide of food prices hike and urgent review of minimum wage of public service workers.
It said the masses of the people also want the Tinubu government to dovothervthings that can bring to the barest minimum the untold hardshipthe subsidy removal has afflicated on the populace among which should look into amelioratinf the suffering of all citizens away from selective.
The government, it said, should immediatelyeffect upward review of monthly pension paid to senior citizens both at Federal and the state levels and effective monitoring of fuel prices, warning that “intermitent upward review of fuel prices is dangerous as it put more hardship on the people.”
The Group also charged the Federal Government to stop the astronomical increase in the Naira-to-Dollar rate, stating that by the recent collapse of multiple costs of dollar into unified rate, foreign exchange ought to have been stabilised and not remain on increase to the detriment of Naira the way it has trended.
New Year
The Group tasked Muslims to intensify their prayers for the success of Tinubu administration, especially as they celebrate the New Islamic Year on Muharram 1st, 1445 Aftwr Hijrah, pointing-out that the administration is struggling hard to correct the errors of the past.
It said further that it is always hard to straighten a bad situation.
The Group commended all the states that have declared 1st Muharram public holiday and enjoined the Federal Government to follow suit beginning from next year, wishing everyone a very happy New Year.
Osun, Oyo, Kwara declare public holiday
The governments of Senator Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Engr Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Mallam AbduRahman AbdulRazaq (Kwara) in the South West and North Central have declared today as public holiday to mark the New Islamic Year in the country.
