Cost of living: CISLAC urges FG to cushion hardship on citizens

The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has urged the Federal Government to immediately ensure a commensurate action to cushion the effects of the recent increment in fuel prices and another planned hike in electricity tariff.

The Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said it was disappointing that government was accentuating the cost of living despite the current negative socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the citizenry; rendering many individuals and households incapacitated to finance basic needs.

According to him, the latest government-supported increase in fuel pump prices is clear indication of total disconnect between the government and the people.

“We are surprised that in spite of whopping unaccounted domestic and foreign donations to support and rescue the country, as well as reported repatriation of huge looted sums to the nation’s treasury, the government has not devised adequate measures to mainstream the funds in re-financing deficit in its budget.

“Also, we have, on several occasions drawn the government’s attention to the existing loopholes in the petroleum industry which have not tampered with neither the law nor the structure of governance in the sector. It becomes a thing of worry what the basis of these regulations being churned out by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) are based upon,” Rafsanjani said.

He further said Nigerians expected that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would provide the government with the much-needed lesson towards holistic innovative thinking like every other civilised nations to block and harness these loopholes to mitigate people’s socioeconomic plight.

He added that, “We, therefore, call on the government to cut down on the cost of governance at all levels. We ask that the government puts measures that will ensure prudent use of borrowed resources.”