Edo state Governor Godwin Obaseki has predicted Nigerians would face economic hardship from June, due to cash crunch that has hit the federal and state governments.
Speaking to workers during the May Day celebration in Benin, Governor Obaseki said that the government could either print new currency or remove petrol subsidy but both options would still inflict hardship on Nigerians including workers.
He urged workers to “champion any discussion on subsidy removal.” Obaseki added: “You must shift from the tradition of reacting when these policies have been made but insist that you take charge and ensure full transparency and disclosure. If we are all undertaking a reform, then the benefits and pains that will come out of the reforms must be mutually shared by all Nigerians, not just the downtrodden.”
Nigeria’s has continued to experience a gloomy economic outlook under President Muhammadu Buhari. In January, Patience Oniha, the director-general of the Debt Management Office put Nigeria’s debt stock as at September 2022 at N44.03trillion.
She added the debt could balloon to N77trillion, given President Buhari’s request to the national assembly for an approval to borrow N23.7trillion.
Equally, the National Bureau of Statistics revealed in March that the country’s inflation had reached 22.04 per cent. Renowned accounting firm KPMG projected that Nigeria’s unemployment could hit 40.6 per cent in 2023.
