Osamagbe Imadiyi
In order to alleviate the suffering throughout the nation, organized labor, which spent the weekend in Ibadan, Oyo State, urged President Bola Tinubu to revert the national currency and energy cost floating.
Under the auspices of the National Union of Shop and Distributive Employees, or NUSDE, organized labor recognized that businesses and Nigerians are going through a very trying time and that the federal government must act quickly to resolve the problems before they become out of control.
Speaking to guests and Union members at the 6th Quadrennial and 13th National Delegates Conference, or NDC, of NUSDE in Ibadan, Oyo State, President Aminu Megbontowon stated, “Some of the policies implemented by this government are causing difficulties for Nigerian workers and businesses in the country.” The excessively high cost of energy has had a detrimental impact on output, services, and employee welfare. In Nigeria, for example, where oil and gas are produced and Nigerians’ purchasing power is still very low, there is no reason why petroleum products should cost more than N1,000. Electricity tariff is also very high. The electricity tariff that increased from N68 to N227 has also driven the cost of production, services and livelihood far beyond the reach of many Nigerians.
“To arrest the rising cost of living, inflation, service costs and production costs, President Tinubu should immediately reduce energy costs (electricity and petroleum products) drastically. He should reverse the floating and devaluation of the Naira so that the goods and services including raw materials will become affordable.
“In order to promote more investment and affordable credit, the president should also lower lending rates to single-digit numbers. The must embark on massive investments in infrastructure such as electricity, roads, public refineries, schools, hospitals, agriculture and so on. It should also pursue an ambitious industrialization plan to enable the growth and development of the Nigerian economy.”, Megbontowon added.