From Okwe Obi, Abuja
The Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), has reminded President Bola Tinubu of the sufferings of Nigerians, partly linked to the removal of fuel subsidy.
CHRICED Executive Director Ibrahim Zikirullahi, at a press conference in Abuja, lamented that most parents can no longer feed their children.
Zikirullahi, represented by the Head of Programmes, Armsfree Ajanaku, said contrary to what government officials would have us believe, Nigerians are reeling from the severe pains and anguish of the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s many harsh, unkind, and economically draining policies.
“So far, nothing has changed to ameliorate the utter disaster of the former President Muhammadu Buhari’s regime, of which Tinubu’s government is an extension.
And it appears to us that the incumbent president and his team have been hellbent on using Nigerians as Guinea pigs for experimentation in voodoo economics since taking office on May 29.
“This approach of experimenting with the lives of millions of Nigerians has led to worsening poverty. It has also multiplied the misery all over the land.
“Even where some stakeholders may concede that some policies are necessary to address the deep seated issues in the economy, the manner of implementation and the lack of commitment to consultation have left much to be desired.
“We saw this play out in the removal of petrol subsidy, where no consultations were made to prepare citizens for what was to come.
“The government put the cart before the horse by hastily removing the subsidy, only to start sourcing for solutions, after the effects of the policy began to bite and impoverish the citizens.
“The result is that the rug was pulled off the feet of most Nigerians, leading to the skyrocketing inflationary trends, which has further accentuated the poverty and destitution in the land.” He, also, condemned the spree of borrowing by the Federal Government and the purchase of Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) for lawmakers.
“Even more self-indicting is the excuse of bad roads, which the lawmakers have given as the reason they need such expensive vehicles.
“The National Assembly by this position has admitted that it has not been playing its role in terms of making laws for the good governance of the country because if it was, it would have properly supervised the ministries, agencies and departments responsible for road projects.”