The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) says the hardship being experienced by Nigerians is a result of the recent policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
On May 29, 2023, during his inauguration, Tinubu announced
the removal of the petrol subsidy, and weeks later, the naira was floated by
the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The two policies of the government were believed to have
triggered the hardship that citizens are passing through.
In a communiqué issued at the end of a meeting of the
national executive council (NEC) of the AFC in Kaduna on Tuesday, the forum
said the country’s current situation could degenerate into chaos if it is not
addressed.
The forum lamented that “the times continue to be tough and
challenging for the average citizen who is daily confronted with runaway
inflation, unemployment, rapid deterioration in standards of living in the face
of incidents of insurgency, terrorism, banditry, etc”.
“The immediate causes of the problems have been policies put
in place by the government over the past months, including but not limited to
the removal of subsidies from the prices of petroleum products, the floating of
the naira, an astronomical hike in the cost of poorly supplied electricity, and
increasing tariffs and taxes against the seemingly insensitive profligacy in
spending by public officials, to name a few,” the communiqué signed by Tukur
Muhammad-Baba, spokesperson of the forum, reads.
“ACF is equally worried about the widening regional
disparities in social demographic factors, such as access to education, public
health, infrastructure, economic inclusion, political participation, living
conditions, etc.”
Advertisement
The forum asked the government to curb disparities in the
country to ensure that “Nigeria does not become two-states-in-one”.
“Factors that unify rather than divide citizens along any
lines should attract the attention of all concerned, government and citizens
alike.
“As it has severally reiterated in recent public outings,
ACF calls for urgent action and definitive attention by the government at all
levels to confront the rapid decline in the living conditions of citizens.
“The addition of new taxes and levies becoming increasingly
burdensome is too heavy to bear for ordinary Nigerians.
“The need for a
rollout of public policy programmes and projects aimed at addressing low
purchasing power challenges is clearly indicated.
“ACF calls on citizens to rally around the government and
offer prayers for God Almighty’s intervention in our various tribulations,
which will translate into a new, prosperous Nigeria where justice, equity,
love, righteousness, and hope emerge to replace the current despair and
hopelessness.”
The ACF added that government officials should shun the
reckless spending of public funds.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com