Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, has
asked President Bola Tinubu to urgently halt moves by some government
institutions to jack up prices of commodities and services like electricity.
In a statement by Jare Ajayi, its national publicity
secretary, Afenifere said hiking prices would “further worsen the precarious
situations of hapless Nigerians”.
The group said various steps taken lately by the current
administration could lift Nigeria in the medium to long term, but that there is
a need to ensure citizens are not overwhelmed by these policies.
“But there is the need to ensure that the people are not
squeezed out of breath before that good time comes, as it is only a person who
is wholesomely alive that would enjoy the largesse of tomorrow,” Afenifere
said.
“It would be recalled
that the electricity Distribution Companies in the country (Discos) on June 25,
2023, announced that from July 1, the tariffs being paid by electricity
consumers in Nigeria will go up by 40 per cent.
“In the same vein, Engineer Abdulhafiz Toriola, permanent
secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Transportation, on Tuesday, June 27th,
quoted the federal government joint tax board as imposing a levy of N1,000 per
annum on every vehicle owner in Nigeria. The payment was said to be in form of
Proof of Ownership Certificate (POC).
“This is without regard to various taxes vehicle owners pay
yearly viz vehicle licence, insurance, road worthiness and hackney permit (for
commercial vehicles) etc.
“In many states
across the country, some road users (other than pedestrians) have daily
payments to make to be allowed to ply the roads.
“As though to further squeeze the citizens, the Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN) has made it obligatory for commercial banks to collect and
verify their customers’ social media handles as part of their Know Your
Customer (KYC) process.”
‘NIGERIANS PAYING FOR
GOVERNMENT’S NEGLIGENCE’
Afenifere said the directive amounts to making members of
the public to pay for the failure and negligence of relevant organs of
government.
“The CBN, through its
director, financial policy and regulations department, Chibuzo Efobi, said that
it gave the directive with a view to ‘bolstering compliance with anti-money
laundering and counter-terrorism provisions’,” the group said.
“Already, every telephone user in the country got captured
as directed by the National Communications Commission (NCC) with the National
Identity Number (NIN) incorporated. Besides, every bank customer now has what
is known as Bank Verification Number (BVN).
“Email addresses were also registered with the banks into
which information from banks are sent to the respective customers. Meaning that
the information this new directive is seeking is already within the purview of
government agencies.”
Afenifere, however, applauded Tinubu for “some bold steps”
within one month of assuming office.
The group noted that his actions are restoring people’s
confidence in the government and have the potential for a broader economic
transformation.
“But the way some of the policies are being implemented are
making many to ‘gasp for breath’,” the group said.
Afenifere asked Tinubu to ensure that the increase in
electricity tariff is not effected secretly as had been done before.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com