ABUJA, Nigeria: Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Monday announced economic measures to ease growing hardship in Africa’s most populous country as labor unions threatened protests to demand more action.
Several government policies introduced by Tinubu since he took office in May have further squeezed millions of Nigerians. The government ended decades-long gasoline subsidies that Tinubu said favored the rich, but the decision has more than doubled the price of gas, causing a sharp spike in prices of food and other essential commodities.
In a state broadcast late Monday, the Nigerian leader said he understands that Nigeria’s economy is going through a “tough patch” but added the government has saved more than one trillion naira ($1.16 billion) since the subsidy was scrapped in late May. Past funds for the subsidies were “being funneled into the deep pockets and lavish bank accounts of a selected group of individuals,” he added.
“What I can offer immediately is to reduce the burden our current economic situation has imposed on all of us,” the Nigerian leader said as he announced incentives and credit facilities for businesses many of which would be implemented over the next year.
The hardship has squeezed many in the country of more than 210 million people which already had been struggling with record inflation and poverty rates. Many businesses have shut down and more Nigerians are trekking to work, unable to afford increasing transport fares.
While the doctors in Nigerian hospitals have embarked on strike to demand better welfare, Nigeria’s labor unions said they will hold protests on Wednesday to demand more actions from the government and improved social welfare programs for their members, most of whom they said now spend at least 70 percent of their salaries on transportation.
Tinubu admitted the government was not fast enough in introducing measures to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal and requested more patience from citizens.
“The federal government is working closely with states and local governments to implement interventions that will cushion the pains,” he said.
Some of the interventions, according to Tinubu, include the provision of one billion naira ($1.16 million) credit to each of 75 manufacturing companies over the next year and the provision of 125 billion naira ($145 million) in the form of grants and loans to small, medium-sized enterprises and other businesses in the informal sector.
The Nigerian leader said he has ordered the release of 200,000 metric tons of grains to households across the country to help stabilize the price of food while 225,000 metric tons of fertilizer, seedlings and other inputs are being provided to farmers. At least 200 billion naira ($232 million) would also be invested in agriculture to boost farming, he said.
Tinubu also said the government is continuing to negotiate a new salary structure with civil servants.
Nigerian leader has announced economic measures to ease hardship as labor unions threaten protests
https://arab.news/5rf98
Nigerian leader has announced economic measures to ease hardship as labor unions threaten protests
- Several government policies introduced by Tinubu since he took office in May have further squeezed millions of Nigerians
EU chief calls additional US tariffs a mistake, insists sovereignty of Greenland ‘non-negotiable’
DUBAI: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described additional US tariffs on Europe as “a mistake,” and insisted that the sovereignty of Greenland was “non-negotiable” during a special address on Tuesday.
“When it comes to the security of the Arctic region, Europe is fully committed. And we share the objectives of the US in this regard … and this is why the proposed additional tariffs are a mistake, especially between longstanding allies,” she said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Donald Trump has vowed to follow through on his threat to impose tariffs on European countries who oppose his demand to take control of Greenland.
The US administration claims it is considering buying the semi-autonomous territory from fellow Nato member Denmark to prevent Russia and China from taking it.
But Von der Leyen said the EU was working on a package to support Arctic security, and also expressed the bloc’s full solidarity with Greenland and Denmark.
“The sovereignty and integrity of the territory is non-negotiable,” she said of Greenland as Trump declined to rule out the option of annexing it by force.
Von der Leyen made a reference to Trump’s wider focus on the Arctic region, which saw Washington order icebreaker ships from Finland.
“We will work with the US and all partners on wider Arctic security. Above all ... Arctic security can only be achieved together.
“Our EU member, Finland, one of the newest NATO members, is selling its first icebreakers to the US. And this shows that we have the capability right here in the ice, so to speak. It shows that our northern NATO members have Arctic ready forces right now.
“The EU and US agreed to a trade deal last July. And in politics, as in business, a deal is a deal. And when friends shake hands, it must mean something.
“We consider the people of the US not just our allies, but our friends. And plunging us into a downward spiral would only aid the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape.”
Von der Leyen insisted that the EU would continue to collaborate with the US on Ukraine amid Russia’s intensifying attacks.
