NULGE faults Tinubu’s economic policies, warns him to make u-turn

 

The National President of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Comrade Ambali Olatunji, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, claiming that they are harming the general populace. He has also accused Tinubu of presiding over an overburdened cabinet that includes ministers and a retinue of aides.

During the opening session of the Union’s two-day National Youth Conference in Benin, Edo State, Olatunji accused the President of being insensitive to people’s suffering.

He questioned why Tinubu, who claims to understand the plight of the people, would pursue anti-populist policies without considering the cost of governance, noting that 45 ministers and a slew of aides place a significant strain on an already precarious economy.

The NULGE President added that the questionable and vague economic policy of the Tinubu administration is particularly harming the weak and disadvantaged. He also criticised the elimination of fuel subsidies without a plan for reducing emissions.

He therefore advised the President to backtrack before upending the entire country’s economy.

“We should be talking of cutting down on the cost of governance at a time like this rather than doing things that exacerbate the already bad situation. About 26 ministers and a few aides would have sufficed considering what the country is currently undergoing. The president also hurriedly removed the fuel subsidy without putting in place measures to cushion the effect and that is why we are at this abysmal level. Hopefully, he will retrace his steps and the country can move in the right direction,” NULGE president said.

His remarks come as Nigeria struggles to deal with the effects of President Tinubu’s decision to eliminate multiple exchange rate regimes on the forex market and the removal of fuel subsidies.

He thanked the Edo State government for fostering an environment that allows workers to flourish while urging the federal and state governments to give local governments in the nation financial autonomy.

The conference was held to help workers get ready for retirement because the skills they learned there would be very useful to them after retirement, according to Comrade Lazarus Adorolo, the Edo State chairman of NULGE.