LP Tasks FG On Poverty Alleviation

The Labour Party, LP, has appealed to the Federal Government to work out modalities in reducing the hardship being faced by poor Nigerians.

This is contained in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the Party, Mr. Obiora Ifoh in Abuja

The statement which was borne out of today’s protests by women and youths in Niger state as a result of the hardship explains that millions of Nigerians are battling with the crisis of food shortage following increasing cost of living in the country.

“We seek help because things are becoming unbearable for average Nigerians. This must be done immediately to stem the rising tide of discontentment. Let us pray very hard that the Niger State incidence does not trigger chains of other protests because it is really biting hard across the nation” Mr. Ifoh adds.

“Earlier today, residents of Minna, the capital of Niger State blocked main roads in the city to protest the high cost of living. Women and young people among the demonstrators were heard shouting protest songs while accusing the government of insensibility and inadequate responses” he stresses.

According to the statement, as at today, essential commodities such as rice, garri, flour, beans have witnessed exponential increase in prices since January.

“For instance, a carton of Indomie noodles now sells for N10,000, a 50kg bag of sugar is now selling at N73, 000 as against N62, 000 sold in early January. A bag of cement now sells upward of N7000 against N5500, a bag of rice rising above N70,000, while a kg of meat now sells for N4000, amongst others”.

“We are aware that the organized Labour Union and the government have been in a long protracted dialogue on a possible salary increase for Civil Servants. There is an air of despondency across the nation. The immediate fallout of this situation, is increase in crime particularly among the youths who are desperate to remain alive; incidences of suicides are in upswing” The National Publicity Secretary emphasizes.

“Our Presidential Candidate in the 2023 general elections, Mr. Peter Obi has said it time and again that until we get the leadership question right, we will continue to grapple in the dark.

“He has always said we need to move away from a consumption dependent economy to a productive one in order to shore up our foreign exchange reserves and ultimately strengthen the Naira for the economic boom we desire”.

The statement calls on President Tinubu to prevail on some of his aides at this auspicious moment from making inflammatory comments which are capable of offending the sensibility of average Nigerians.

PR/Georgina Humphrey