Labour to Buhari: Ignore calls for fuel subsidy removal, naira devaluation

EZUGWU OBINNA

The Textile Workers Union has cautioned the Federal Government against fuel subsidy removal and further devaluation of the naira.

The General Secretary of the union, Mr Issa Aremu, said yesterday in a statement made available to Hallmark that recent call 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 dismissed 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, fuelled 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.”