Atiku, NACCIMA, Others Knock FG over Petrol Price Increase
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; the Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA); Ekiti State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); ActionAid Nigeria; and the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), have kicked against the recent increase in the pump price of petrol by the federal government.
Reacting to the petrol price hike, NACCIMA declared that the decision of the federal government to commence the implementation of the increase in the price of petrol and the introduction of cost reflective tariffs for pricing the cost of electricity simultaneously to raise public revenue would increase “the severity and duration of the looming economic recession.”
A statement issued yesterday by the Director General of NACCIMA, Ambassador Ayo Olukanni, stated that “it is the position of the NACCIMA that the decision of the federal government to increase the price of petrol through the product price adjustment by the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) and to commence the implementation of Cost Reflective Tariffs for pricing the cost of electricity as well as numerous policies implemented across the federal and state levels of governments to bolster revenues, will serve only to increase the severity and duration of the looming economic recession.
“We reiterate our counsel that government at all levels should resist the urge to tax or place an economic burden on the citizenry but adopt policies that will stimulate economic activities by creating a regulatory environment that encourages citizens to take up productive activities in larger numbers.”
Olukanni said that it is with some trepidation that NACCIMA has noted that the “implementation of two policy decisions in the space of a week will negatively impact the consumption and productive capacity of Nigerians amidst the prospect of the worst economic recession in 40years as stated in the World Bank Report, ‘Nigeria in Times of COVID-19: Laying Foundations for a Strong Recovery.’”