Fuel Hike: UCCIMA Boss Makes Case For SMEs[b][/b][color=#006600][/color]

Fuel hike is not the best for Nigeria, considering the adverse effect of COVID-19 on the economy, which caused the country to experience a number of workforce retrenchments in various fields, worst hit is the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs

The above is the view of Chief Chidi Nkem Aruoma, the 6th president of Umuahia Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (UCCIMA), on the recent hike in fuel pump price.

Aruoma who spoke to a cross section of Journalists in Umuahia, Abia state, passionately appealed to the government to encourage the growth and success of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) because it is the foundation through which any economy can thrive.

He decried that the rising fuel costs will have a negative impact on SMEs since most micro-entreprises are dependent on generating sets and hired transports to fetch items from wholesalers.

Aruoma pointed out that the hike in fuel pump price will reduce competitiveness of small businesses and entrepreneurs must make a series of decisions to sustain their business model, because fuel cost impact their supply and overhead expenses.

The UCCIMA boss further decried that the hike will put pressure on small businesses because their little gains will most certainly be diluted by the fuel price hike, adding that small businesses will have to keep a firm grip on the management of their resources to get through this period.

The people making these policies are wicked set of people ..the world is yet to recover from the adverse economic effects of covid19 and while other progressive Governments are issuing reliefs and subsidies to their economies ours is stiffening us with outrageous policies. My question is if you're truly working for the people you claim voted you did you consult them for opinions before making this move? How would these moves benefit the people you claim you're serving? You're deliberately plunging your country into higher poverty level when you increase tax burden on them without improving their income