Economic Recession: Rejig Your Economic Team, Ekiti NLC Tells Buhari

Olakiitan Victor in Ado Ekiti

The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Ekiti State has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to take critical actions that will make his change agenda have positive impacts on the lives of Nigerians.

The labour group urged Buhari to make meaningful changes to his economic team so that his much-touted change mantra won’t end like a mere slogan without productive effects on the lives of the citizens.

The Chairman of the congress, Ade Adesanmi, said this in his Sallah message to Nigerian Muslims in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday.

Adesanmi said what the president promised Nigerians before the March 28, 2015 presidential poll was life full of abundance for Nigerian citizens and not the hardship being presently witnessed by the populace.
“President Buhari campaigned in all the 36 states of the federation and what he promised us was life full of peace and abundance.

“However, the president has been able to give us peace by way of tackling Boko Haram insurgents while he has also taken decisive actions against militancy in the Niger Delta, but the issue of the receding economy as shown in the skyrocketing prices of goods and services and callous losses of jobs by Nigerians are worrisome.

“President Buhari did not promise that a bag of rice which was sold for N9,000 will be sold for N40,000, he didn’t promise that a bag of cement which was sold for N1,500 will be sold for N2,500 within one yearhe assumed office, he didn’t promise that a litre of petrol which cost N87 will be jacked up to N145, among other food items which prices have jumped up in four folds.

“The APC-led federal government must look beyond its party to solving our economic problems. We suggest that President Buhari must rejig his economic team. He must make changes before things get out of hands.

“As much as we align with the idea of relying on Nigerian products to grow our economy, we disagree with the idea of total ban placed on some food items to allow internal production of such commodity.

“Of particular reference, the federal government should lift ban placed on rice importation and set a minimum of three years to allow for internal production of rice before effecting the ban. This I think will be the best way for Nigeria to get out of the famine ravaging the land,” he advised.

Adesanmi, who appealed to Muslims to continue to co-exist peacefully with their Christian brothers, called on politicians to stop politicising the economic recession that his hitting the Nigerian masses.

“This is the time for sober reflection and not a time to apportion blames. We have a problem at hand that is affecting very Nigerian, both high and low and the best way to get out of it is to make good suggestions that will be in the interest of all Nigerians rather than making political capital out of an unfortunate situation,” Adesanmi advised.

Anti-Corruption War Lopsided, Shrouded in Secrecy, Says PFN President
The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Reverend Felix Omobude, has described the anti-corruption crusade being championed by President Muhammadu Buhari as lopsided, saying it is shrouded in secrecy as Nigerians were not aware of what is behind the veiled activities of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Omobude made known in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, yesterday while addressing a press conference, saying the church was worried that the anti-corruption fight was targeted at selected persons as some politicians who defected from their political parties to a particular party became saints overnight despite their proven track record of involvement in corrupt activities.

“It is worrisome that some people who defected to a particular political party are now putting blames on one political party which does not make sense to us as a churc.”
“It is high time Mr. President finds solution to the current hardship being faced by Nigerians. The blame game should be put aside.”

Accoring to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), he noted that the church was not in any way against the fight against corruption but insisted that the fight must be holistic if the desired result must be achieved.

The PFN president explained that he was in Lafia in continuation of his state-wide visit to the fellowship to build unity and strengthen the bond of fellowship amongst members and across religions, urging Christians to imbibe the spirit of tolerance and love for one another.

Omobude restated that the church would continue to seek God’s intervention in the challenges confronting the country stressing that with prayers the challenges would be overcome.

He commended Christians in the state for their steadfastness, pointing out that he was impressed with the peaceful and orderly conduct of Christians in the state and urged them to maintain the spirit.