The founder of Stanbic IBTC and ANAP Foundation, Atedo Peterside, has criticized the Federal Government’s N90 billion subsidy for the 2024 Hajj, saying it is a setback to the nation’s economy.
Peterside said this on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He emphasized that the move has a political undertone ahead of the next electoral cycle.
He said, “This is not about religion but about politics. We are mixing religion and politics. So, what do we now expect Christians to do? – to say they want their own share of this subsidy.”
“How are you going to refuse them? This is all about politics, perhaps someone feels that ‘it is time for me to score some cheap political points.
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“You now come and send the wrong signal about our economy at a time when our economy is in deep trouble. We need to bring ourselves out of the hole. Each time you turn around and do something insignificant like this and throw away N90 billion, you set back the process by which investors and others can take you seriously.
For me, it is not about just religion and pilgrimage; it is the setback of the economy by sending the wrong signals. The government should stop sending the wrong signals.”
Recall that on Wednesday, Kashim Shettima disclosed that Bola Tinubu subsidised the 2024 Hajj with N90 billion.
“You may recall that this year, we had a major challenge in announcing the final hajj fare for the 2024 Muslim pilgrimage due to fluctuation in foreign exchange rates,” Shettima was quoted as saying by the News Agency of Nigeria.
“Bola Tinubu also works round the clock to control the downward spiral of our local currency to bring relief to our pilgrims and other Nigerians.
“A move that eventually succeeded in lowering the fare. Tinubu approved the release of N90 billion to subsidize the cost of pilgrimage for this year’s hajj,” Shettima had said.
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