Atiku’s Ally, Chidoka Proffers Solution On How To Cushion Effects Of Subsidy Removal

An ally of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osita Chidoka has told President Bola Tinubu what to do to immediately ameliorate the effects of the fuel subsidy.

According to him, the President should make moves to remove bank charges and reduce the monthly contributions to pension schemes by workers to ameliorate the biting effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on the masses.

Naija News reports that Chidoka, who is a former Minister of Aviation, made this submission on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics while discussing the issue of subsidy removal.

Chidoka submitted that “We need to think beyond politics. When he (Tinubu) took a decision to remove subsidy and he removed fuel subsidy and the fuel prices rose by 100 and something naira to 500 and something naira in a day. What are the immediate measures that can be taken to make sure there is more cash in the pockets of people who go to work every day?” he queried.

“If I was thinking with him, I would have said immediately: remove the charges for bank transfers in Nigeria, the N26 and the N56 cut it immediately. That money goes to the banks and they are just enriching themselves… or make a flat rate of once a month, you can charge N100 for IT (Information Technology) support. So, that puts more money in the hands of people.

“Second one is that our pension scheme has accumulated a lot of money and that pension scheme now requires people to pay 12% of their salaries from the employers’ side.

“So, I’m think you can reduce the amount the people are contributing for a one-year period or six months to allow more money.

“That way, immediately from the next month salary, another N10,000, N5,000 as the case may be, enters into the pocket of the people who goes to work every day. They are able to pay their transport fare because they need to go to work tomorrow. We can’t wait till when you take a decision (on ministerial appointments) to ameliorate the suffering.”

Speaking further, the former aviation minister pointed out that the minimum wage needs to be reviewed upward to reflect the current economic hardship

He noted that even though the Tinubu government removed subsidy in its day one in office, the administration inherited a $3bn debt to be paid to fuel importers.

He added that “The past is already facing him (Tinubu) because there is about $3bn owed to the fuel importers. The four major companies importing fuel to Nigeria has a debt of over $3bn and they haven’t been given enough crude to pay for those debt. So, he (Tinubu) has to pay the backlog of those debts.”