Aremu warns Buhari against fuel subsidy removal, naira devaluation

By -
(Nigeria) The General Secretary, Textile Workers Union, Mr Issa Aremu, on Monday cautioned the Federal Government against fuel subsidy removal and further devaluation of the naira.
Aremu in a statement in Kaduna, said recent calls for subsidy removal and naira devaluation was to set the new administration against the people.
``This administration must resist the new emergency discordant voices pushing for twin-evil policies of so-called oil subsidy removal and further devaluation of the naira. The two amount to policy dictatorship and policy ambush that has nothing to do with the ruling party's electoral promises which the masses overwhelmingly voted for.''
He particularly dsimissed the call by the Managing Director of First Bank, Mr Bisi Onasanya for further devaluation of the Naira, saying doing so would be unhelpful to the economy.
The labour leader expressed support for the new measures adopted by the Central Bank of Nigeria restricting access to foreign exchange and said the bank should resist pressure to further devalue the nation's currency.
``The existing currency devaluation has further eroded wage income of millions of workers,many with unpaid monthly salaries. Devaluation has also increased the cost of domestic production, fueled price inflation and undermined the competitiveness of locally surviving industries leading to loss of existing few jobs.
``The CBN ban on importers from using the foreign exchange market for some frivolous forty (40) items ranging from private jets to rice, wheelbarrows and Indian incense, Geisha (canned fish) and toothpicks, to even eggs, is welcome and commendable.''
Aremu stressed that what Nigeria needed amidst current huge capital inadequacy, was strict capital application and control in order to ``enhance domestic production in place of unhelpful luxury imports.''
``It will also save the nation the current capital flight averaging some 1.3 trillion naira ($6.5 billion) a year, almost half of national budget, on avoidable unnecessary job-killing imports.''
``Indeed CBN should include African prints textile materials in its foreign exchange restrictions.Nigeria has comparative advantage in production of African prints.''
Aremu, therefore, advised the federal government to concentrate on fixing existing refineries, reorganising and repositioning the NNPC for greater efficiency and passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill.
The textile workers' scribe said the administration must also end crude oil theft and provide decent jobs to the people.
``As we have seen with good management of fertilizer subsidy in the last dispensation under former agriculture minister, Dr Adeshina Akinwunmi, there is nothing inherently bad with subsidy.
``The challenge of today more than ever before is domestic production of petroleum instead of unsustainable wasteful imports.
``The new administration should reject one-cap fits all policy dictate. No substitute to good governance and employment generation.''

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UBTH @50: Obaseki hails institution’s role in strengthening Edo healthcare

By -
Image
(Nigeria) Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has commended the staff and management of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, for their unwavering commitment, dedication, and hard work in providing high-quality healthcare services to the people of Edo State and Nigeria in the past fifty years. Obaseki, at a dinner organized in honour of the Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Nigeria, at the Government House, Benin City, reassured the government’s continuous partnership and collaboration with the federal government-owned health institution to strengthen the health system and ensure quality health delivery to Edo people. The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Philip Shaibu, reeled out the gains of the government’s reforms in the health sector, commending the medical centre for bolstering the government’s efforts at transforming Edo State into a health hub. He said, "We came into a wilderness where you have to cut a part for yourself and fix it. We held
Read more

NBC has no powers to impose fine on broadcast stations --Court

By -
Image
(Nigeria) The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, has been restrained by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, from imposing fines on broadcast stations in the country. Trial judge in the matter, Justice James Omotosho also set aside the N500,000 fines imposed on March 1, 2019, on each of 45 broadcast stations. The court made the orders in its judgment a suit by the Incorporated Trustees of Media Rights Agenda, MRA, which had sued the NBC. Justice Omotosho held that the NBC, not being a court of law, had no power to impose sanctions as punishment on broadcast stations. The court further held that the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, which gives the commission the power to impose sanction, is in conflict with Section 6 of the Constitution that vested judicial power in the court of law. He said the court would not sit idle and watch a body imposing fine arbitrarily without recourse to the law. He said that the commission did not comply with the law when it sat as a complainant and at
Read more