The Chairman of the Labour Party (LP) in Lagos State, Dayo Ekong, has criticized President Bola Tinubu’s government over Nigeria’s current economic challenges.
Ekong claimed that poor Nigerians are being oppressed under the current administration, adding that high rate of inflation in the country has impacted negatively on the standard of living of many Nigerians.
The party chairman was reacting to report that ShopRite plans to shut down its Wuse branch in Novare Central Mall, Abuja, this month.
In a circular on Monday, ShopRite said it was shutting down the branch from June 30, citing the current harsh economic climate as reason for the decision.
Ekong said that while inflation continues to rise, the level of income of many Nigerians have remained the same. This, she said, has made it difficult for people to save.
“The news of the closure of ShopRite in Abuja is indeed a very sad one. This is one amongst several international companies that have closed and ended their operations in Nigeria, especially since the inception of the present government barely a year now.
“The rate of inflation has badly hurt people’s standard of living, since the rising prices have ensured that the majority of the population pays more for same goods and services, the question that this present Nigeria government should answer is why are the poor oppressed to such extent?
“The levels of income have remained the same or rather decreased and inflation leading to drastic decline in the standard of living skyrockets.
“This requires the citizens to save more currently for the reasons of paying for highly priced goods and services. Currently goods and services cost much hence leaving people with less to save out of their income,” Ekong said in a statement.
She noted that if the current situation persists, many would slip into extreme poverty.
“It would not be favorable for the citizens if the present bad government would continue operating in such economic situations like this which would only guarantee extreme poverty for the masses.
“It is most saddening that these so-called leaders are not disturbed at all at the current bad situation of the country. It is a situation of the bad getting uglier and more terrible by the day,” Ekong added.
Nigeria’s inflation has been on a steady rise since the removal of petrol subsidy and floating of Naira. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that in May, headline inflation rate increased to 33.95, an increase of 0.26 percent points from 33.69 percent recorded in April.
During the period under review, food inflation rate was 40.66 percent. On a year-on-year basis, this is 15.84 percent points higher when compared to 24.82 percent recorded in May 2023.
With the devaluation of Naira, which has resulted in a N1,500/$ rate, many companies are struggling to cope.