In an effort to lessen the pain that Nigerians are going through, a coalition of civil society organisations named The Osun Masterminds, or TOM, have urged President Bola Tinubu to restore fuel subsidies.
The group revealed that the current administration’s dual policies of eliminating subsidies and floating the Naira are to blame for the terrible suffering the majority of the population is currently experiencing in the nation.
The group’s executive director, Professor Wasiu Oyedokun-Alli, stated to reporters in Osogbo over the weekend that Nigeria is not prepared for the simultaneous elimination of gasoline subsidies and the floating of the Naira.
“All data and statistics indicate that Nigeria was not prepared for the elimination of fuel subsidy and the floating of the Naira,” he said. According to a World Bank research, the elimination of all fuel subsidies—aside from kerosene—increases inflation by 3.4% across the economy! This explains quite nicely why there doesn’t seem to be any slowdown in our inflation rates.
But the CBN has been raising interest rates steadily to try and contain inflation, and they are currently at 27.25%. While this seems like a practical approach to reducing inflation on paper, it will also undoubtedly deter players in the private sector. A demoralised private sector is a horrible thing for us given our rising unemployment rate.
Taking into account everything mentioned above, we are urging President Bola Tinubu of the Federal Government to take the following action right away to prevent things from getting out of hand:
“End the floatation of the Naira and revert to a CBN-guided pricing that will be devoid of corruption and the sharp practices that characterised the CBN under Godwin Emefiele.”
“Where it is not possible to remove the Naira flotation, refund the petrol subsidy and maintain transparency until such a time as we have established appropriate mechanisms to handle the fallout from complete elimination.
“Invest more in strategic subsidies for ordinary Nigerians rather than giving the States more money, which ultimately funds the extravagant lifestyles of many of the Governors.”
