A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Sowunmi, has criticized the Federal Government for its reliance on “palliatives” in managing the economy since the removal of petrol subsidy eight months ago.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today program, Sowunmi called on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to promptly raise workers’ salaries.
Sowunmi highlighted Nigeria’s economic challenges, including a 28.92% inflation rate, 33.93% food Inflation, 18.75% interest rate, over 133 million multidimensionally poor Nigerians, 33.3% unemployment rate, Naira exchange rate at over N1400/US$ in the parallel market, price per litre of petrol at over N600, and many more, Nigerians have not had it this tough economically.
He expressed concern over the depreciating value of the Naira and the lack of fiscal strategies to stabilize it.
He emphasized that the Nigerian economy should prioritize the welfare of ordinary citizens over impressive GDP and stock exchange figures, urging a focus on resilience and poverty alleviation.
Sowunmi criticized the emphasis on “palliatives” and stressed the need for salary increases to stimulate economic growth, cautioning against wholesale reliance on such measures.
He said, “On the economy, he (Tinubu) needs to let people understand, especially Wale Edun, (Yemi) Cardoso and all of them, he (Tinubu) needs to let them understand that: ‘I am not trying to build an economy solely for GDP so that Bretton Woods organisations such as the World Bank and IMF can be giving me pass marks. I am not interested; I am interested in building an economy that is resilience, serves the poor people of Nigerian and give them the opportunity to live the type of life that the Renewed Hope is supposed to be’.
“Let me tell you what would have happened if he had increased salaries of civil servants, they have been getting that increased salaries in a sustained manner, private sector would have followed up to keep their workforce, that money would have gone back into the market and you would have seen the economy growing.
“You can’t run a big economy on palliatives, especially when you are running the palliatives on wholesales and not retail.”
Sowunmi cautioned against potential economic setbacks under Tinubu’s leadership, urging a focus on economic stability and broad-based prosperity, rather than enriching a select few.
Ada Peter
