The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, (NECA), has urged the Federal Government to address agitations by Nigerians over the rising cost of living in the country.
The employers’ body said that it was imperative for the government to take urgent and deliberate actions to mitigate the persistent rise in inflation in order to check what it called “fast-accelerating cost of living in the country”. Such actions, NECA noted, may include price stability mechanisms, periodic feedback on the progress of the ongoing work at the refineries, reversal of the value-added tax on diesel and suspension of the planned upward review of electricity tariff.
The Director General of NECA, Adewale-Smart Oyerinde, who communicated the position of the association via a statement, said the current situation in the country was also taking a toll on businesses, some of which have closed down.
The Director-General also noted that while the removal of petrol subsidy, renewed efforts at curbing oil theft, and the ongoing attempt to reform the tax administration system with the appointment of Taiwo Oyedele as chairman of the Tax Reform Committee, were commended, it was important, however, that the government takes more drastic steps to stop the slide into hopelessness by Nigerians and the organised businesses.
He called on the government to urgently conclude all palliative measures provide some immediate respite to both individual and corporate citizens.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has called for the patience and understanding of Nigerians, particularly the youths, assuring them that the hardships of the moment will eventually give way for a more prosperous, equitable and inclusive economy.
