Since the removal of oil subsidy two years ago by President Bola Tinubu, State Governments have been receiving well-increased Federal Allocation, very far above what they used to get.

The five South East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo are part of the beneficiaries.

Available records from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) and corroborated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), show that the five South East states received the under mentioned amounts from January to June.

The receipts are inclusive of what accrued to their various Local Government Councils whose chairmen abandoned their areas and reside in the state capital, leaving the rural people they are charged to take care of to wallow in abject neglect and poverty.

The records showed that Abia State got N125.18 billion, Anambra got N150.03 billion, Enugu received N123.21 billion, Ebonyi got N99.63 billion, while Imo received N151.96 billion. This is just for six months of this year; recall that the allocation has been on a steady increase for over two years now.

Part of this enormous allocation is expected to be channeled to cushion the effects of the subsidy removal and to better the lives of the people, particularly the rural dwellers who are hard hit by the subsidy removal.

But despite these huge funds coming to the states, the people, particularly the rural dwellers, are living in abject poverty, which gets worse by the day. To them, more money is coming to their states, but poverty is increasing.

Why is this money not percolating to the rural communities where the people should feel the impact? Are they not part of the government? Are they remembered only during elections when promises are made to them by never fulfilled?

Where do the state governors channel the money? SEV sought reactions from community dwellers on how they feel the impact of the huge monthly money coming to their states.

We’ve not felt the increment, no roads to evacuate our farm produce —Obingwa rural dwellers

Rural dwellers in Akanu Umuorie and Akanu Afagha communities in Obingwa council area of Abia state said they hear of the increased allocation but have not felt the impact.

They lamented that they have no good roads in the area, noting that the ugly situation has aggravated hardship in the area, as the agrarian communities could not take their farm produce to the urban centres due to the deplorable condition of the roads in the area.

They told SEV that they have been cut from their neighbouring communities due caused by erosion, a situation that is made worse by the rainy season.

A resident of one of the communities, Nkechi Rufus, said they find it very difficult to evacuate their farm produce to Aba and other cities to sell and make money to feed their families.

She said: “We lack good roads. We have the roads that leads to Owoahiafo and Itungwa areas, but they are in a very bad state. None of them is passable. This has increased poverty and hunger in the community because we cannot evacuate our farm produce to Itungwa or Aba for sale and make money to feed our families.

“It costs about N10,000 to convey our goods to Aba and back. And you ask yourself how much profit you are going to make from the trip. The situation has worsened since this rainy season began.”

Another resident, who didn’t want his name in print lamented that the bad state of roads has caused an increase in transportation cost in and out of the community. They called on the Abia state government to fix the Itungwa-Owoahiafo road to ease the suffering of the people of the community and environs.

A resident of Enugu, Emeka Ike, said the impact of the increased funds is felt mainly in Enugu capital city and a little in Nsukka, and wondered why the rural people, who are the real voters, are marginalised.

“Yes, there are big development projects going on in Enugu, some even completed. But these are purely elite projects and located in the state capital city. What is the plan for the suffering rural masses? Just go to the hinterlands, you will feel naked poverty everywhere. Something has to be done to make a shift of attention to these community dwellers.

“I think it is time for the government to change direction. They should initiate programmes to tackle poverty, especially in rural areas. Truly, poverty is devastating the rural communities. I am happy that President Tinubu has noticed that and charged the governors to pay attention to rural communities. Good governance should not only be for city dwellers.”

There’s nothing to show that Imo receives enhanced allocation —Residents

In Imo State, a farmer in Okpofe, in Ezinihitte Mbaise Local Government Area of Imo State, Mr. Donald Okoro, said there is nothing to show them that Imo receives a huge extra allocation.

He said: “There is nothing to show that Imo state receives these enormous allocations. Of course, I wasn’t expecting any difference.

“The worst thing the president did to Nigerians was to remove fuel subsidy and expect that the governors would utilize the money to the benefit of the rural population. That is like placing the citizens at the mercy of the governors.

“One cannot really say that Imo is faring better than it did before the removal of the subsidy.”

A trader based in Akokwa, Ideato North Local Government Area, Chief Thaddeus Ochuba, said what is happening in the rural areas is a great disservice to the people by the leaders.

“Even when you get to the local government headquarters, the fact will speak for itself; the place is usually deserted. There is nothing going on in the place; it is a real dead zone; nothing serious is going on there. I don’t think we should bother ourselves talking about this issue. It is not a new thing”, he submitted.

Miss Mary Nnadozie of Osina, also in Ideato North Council, could not hold back her anger and disappointment.

She simply retorted: “God will judge and reward everyone for his works.”

Hardship, suffering, choking us, Ebonyi residents lament

Residents of rural communities in Ebonyi State are weighed down by hardship and sufferings occasioned by the harsh economic situation and lack of basic amenities to improve their living standards.

They said the increased allocation from the federal government has not positively affected their lives; rather, the cost of living has continued to rise on a daily basis.

A farmer from Ezza North, Chief Timothy Nwode, lamented that the rural dwellers are worst hit because, according to him, most of the rural roads are bad and inaccessible for the farmers to bring out their farm produce to urban areas to sell and purchase other necessities.

He said, however, that the state government is doing two kilometers of road in every community across the state, which he said does not get to the farms.

“We are not seeing any difference since this administration came on board. As rural dwellers, we need roads to access our farmlands and evacuate our produce. In this rainy season, we can’t bring our farm produce to markets in the town to sell, it is affecting us negatively”.

A market woman, Mrs. Alice Nwogha, said that she has not seen or felt anything to show that the state is collecting more allocation to better the lives of the citizens. She said the hardship and cost of living are increasing everyday without any remedy in sight, stressing that there is no customer to visit the markets to buy their commodity due to no money.

“The hardship is hitting hard on common people and low-income earners; even rich men doing business are also feeling the heat. It is the politicians who are enjoying themselves in this state.

“In the markets, business is not moving; everything is very dull, because there is no money. We are just surviving by the grace of God.”

A local government worker in Ishielu Council, Onyekachi Nwodanwu, said that the governor of the state means well for the state, but he is not doing enough to ease the suffering of the poor rural dwellers.

He commended the governor for the payment of gratuity and pension to the retired workers and called for prompt payment of salaries and allowances.

“The government should concentrate on alleviating the sufferings of the people by giving grants to workers to go into agriculture, no matter how little. They should build cottage industries and factories to create jobs for the teeming youths. The government should provide portable water, electricity in the rural areas and construct more roads to aid farming. They should provide agricultural inputs and introduce mechanisation,” he pleaded.

Abia govt manages increased revenue well —Residents

Some residents of Abia State have given thumbs up to the State Government, saying the positive impacts of increased revenue accruing to the state are being felt. Speaking with SEV, Chief Chidi Uduma, said for the first time, residents of the state have seen that government could actually work for the people.

The Amaekpu Ohafia-based industrialist said the impacts of improved revenue in the state could be felt even by those in rural communities.

He commended the State Government for the infrastructural revolution being witnessed in the state. He said he never knew that State Governments could actually carry out some of the projects being executed by the Gov. Alex Otti-led administration in the state.

Uduma, who said more is being expected from the government, commended Governor Otti for using public funds to better the lots of the people.

Also, Juliet Sunday, a private school teacher, said the impacts of increased revenue coming to the state “are being felt by residents.”

She said the condition of roads in the state had significantly improved from what they were before. Similarly, she acknowledged a serious improvement in the condition of public schools across the state, saying that there is evidence of more government interventions.

Miss Sunday said, “although we are not there yet, there is a serious indication that the state is getting more funds now.”

A resident of the Nsukka Council area of Enugu State, Chinedu Odu noted that infrastructure and other social amenities remain poor in his area despite increased allocation to the state government.

He said that roads are in bad shape, while healthcare centres and schools are lacking basic facilities, insisting that rural dwellers in the state only hear about the huge allocation it in the news, without feeling the impact by way of improving their standards of living. He stated that until allocations are directed to grassroots, rural communities will remain in their present poor state.

“In many Nigerian rural communities, the impact of increased state allocations is invisible. Roads remain bad, health centres lack basic facilities, and schools are still dilapidated. Farmers and traders say they don’t see government support reaching them. In Enugu, the impact is felt in the capital city with big man projects. The rural people like us are suffering, wallowing in neglect. Even the council chairmen are not doing much to ease the situation. While states receive more money, rural dwellers only hear the figures on the news but don’t feel the impact”, he lamented. (Vanguard)