The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), on Wednesday, asked Nigerians to ignore the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi’s call for devaluation of Nigerian currency and removal of fuel subsidy.



A statement by the NLC’s president, Ayuba Wabba, said the emir should have spoken for the poor as traditional institutions “must not be turned to outposts of neoliberal institutions such as the IMF.”



Also in a statement jointly signed by its President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama; and Secretary-General, Comrade Musa Lawal, TUC noted: “It is painful that at a time the impoverished masses of the country are grappling with myriad of daunting challenges ranging from high cost of living, outrageous electricity bills, and high rate of unemployment, a privileged few are supporting and proposing naira devaluation.



The former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria and now Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, was widely reported by some newspapers to have openly canvassed the devaluation of the national currency as well as total removal of subsidy on petroleum products by the Federal Government.



“We believe the emir was expressing his private opinion and not speaking for the traditional institution or his emirate, where industries have totally collapsed, leaving the emirate with one of the highest population of victims of anti-people policies powered by neo liberal interests.



“The eminence of his position as an emir should not be rubbished with constant proclamations or campaigns for policies that has proven over the years as not only damaging to our national economy but targeted against majority of our people who flounder in abject poverty,” the congress stated.



The statement further reads: “As an import driven country, the effect of devaluing our national currency is more on the quality of life of ordinary Nigerians who bear the brunt of high cost of goods and services given the fact that the exchange rate of the Naira to the dollar has gone record high from N154 to a dollar to over N225 to one dollar.



“Indeed, the purchasing abilities of both industries and individuals have incredibly dwindled and this may affect jobs in the long run.



“The statement clearly speaks only for international finance capitalists who are the direct beneficiaries of the pains of the poor in countries that have been unleashed with policies rammed down the throats of visionless and unpatriotic leaders blinded by the overbearing strengths and blackmails of the Breton Woods institutions.”



According to NLC, these institutions have added no value to the national economy as they have used previous Nigerian governments to decimate the lives of the people as they sent the national economy to its low performing level.



It noted that in several countries, including Europe, citizens have reacted against the pains of these policies through mass protests while in some other countries these anti-people policies ignited changes in government.



“We strongly advise the Federal Government to ignore in its entirety, the reckless anti-people outbursts of Emir Sanusi who we must also advise should concentrate all his energy on policies and programmes that can reduce or eliminate poverty in his emirate by generating efforts to reindustrialise Kano.



“The issue of subsidy removal has been subject of public discourse for more than two decades and our position has not changed. We are not only opposed to it, we have provided written details of how the petroleum industry can be managed to the benefit of our collective interests.”



“The success of our strikes and mass protests against previous attempts to remove subsidy on petroleum products indicates mass rejection of the policy and we believe the Buhari government will not yield to pressure from those who insist on privatising our collective wealth by removing subsidy on petroleum products.



“President Buhari has publicly said his government will not remove subsidy on petroleum products and we fully support his government on the clear commitment of the regime to serving the interests of majority of our people rather than submit to the pressure of unpatriotic few who have continuously diverted public funds to their private interests with so much latitude.



“We are however ready to mobilise Nigerian people against any attempt to remove the subsidy should the government decide to yield to the pressure of people like Emir Sanusi who prefer to serve the interests of foreign institutions against the Nigerian people.



“We recall that the last national strike and mass actions against partial removal of petroleum subsidy in January 2012 did not only expose the rot in the petroleum industry, it also uncovered the high level of corruption in the industry where government officials and their cronies made the entire industry their private preserve.



“We expect government to revisit the reports of all the panels and committees that probed the industry following the 2012 mass protests, especially the reports that indicted individuals and firms that diverted subsidy funds to private interests. All the stolen funds must be recovered while those indicted must be prosecuted and appropriately punished,” the NLC stated.
http://tribuneonlineng.com/node/20876

ftc... I dedicate this ftc to my nephew who is celebrating his birthday today...
Happy birthday Destiny.. Your uncle loves you.
Front page pls.

Ok na

again, let kukuma adopt Zimbabwe dollar ke ?

OGAJosy:
ftc... I dedicate this ftc to my nephew who is celebrating his birthday today...
Happy birthday Destiny.. Your uncle loves you.
Front page pls.

uncle jobless how are you?

Only textbook economist advocate devaluation...Reality on ground does not support it AT THE MOMENT..

They predicate their argument on devaluation on non realistic grounds....

Devaluation to Encourage export when we are a mono export economy!!

Ministers should do & start the race, gonna be a tasking one indeed.... God help Nigeria..

Ok. I'm so happy today cos its my birthday. Fellow nairalanders, rejoice with me.

Na this kin time our money should be devalued??


This our poli-thief-cian are just clowns!

Shoro niyen?
In what way is his recommendation reckless?
Sanusi gave an idea of what he thinks could be a solution, what meaningful input has these critics made other than complaining and finding faults. Chimp heads