Archbishop  of Diocese of Kaduna, Anglican Communion, Timothy Yahaya, has lampooned the Federal Government over palliatives secured for Nigerians following removal of petrol subsidy, saying it is more of mockery on the sensibilities of the poor masses.

Yahaya said the palliative the people need should be able to address the economic realities in the country, which could also stand the test of time.

He added that the negative impact of the subsidy removal rubbished the value of ongoing palliative being distributed across the country by the government.

According to the Anglican cleric, there is no leadership in place as long as the majority of the people are unhappy due to socio-economic hardship across the country.

The fourth Anglican Archbishop of Kaduna province spoke to newsmen, yesterday, before the Thanksgiving Service at the Cathedral of St. Michael, Kaduna, on his recent election as Archbishop.

Yahaya said: “Our advice is not only to the Christians, but to leaders all over the world. Leadership, today, has become a source of decoration, it is no longer a source of responsibility, I call on all leaders to ensure that, at least, their followers have some respite in this difficult time.

“Second, leadership should be responsible and responsive to the people. When the people are smiling, that means there is leadership in place. When the people are crying, leaders are not supposed to be asleep until they ensure that the people are smiling. Let us be our brothers’ keepers in this difficult time; let us carry one another’s burdens, so that our burdens will be lighter. That is my call to all and sundry.”

The real palliative, he noted, is ensuring that schools are in order, railway lines are in order, the insecurity conundrum is over and prices of food in the market is reduced to the barest minimum, so that food can be affordable.

“They said they have added N35,000 to workers’ salary for the next six months. But it still remains bleak for us to know what is going to happen after six months. Are we going back to the status quo? Are they going to increase more? If we are talking about palliative, we should talk about solid palliative; we should not only ensure that our refineries are running, but the three geopolitical zones should have refineries, so that the issue of fuel is settled once and for all in our country.

“The moment you remove fuel subsidy, the prices of other commodities go higher. What that means is inflation in all aspects of our economy. How then do we get palliative? Transportation is a necessity. I thought by now the government would have brought in vehicles to reduce transportation costs. The kind of money coming to the government now, I see no reason for excuses from the government not to create an enabling environment for jobs and small businesses to thrive in this country.”