BY POLYCARP IFEANYI / ONITSHA
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As Nigerians battle with economic hardship, an Onitsha based legal practitioner, Ben Chudi Uzuegbu (SAN) has urged the Federal Government to revisit Oil subsidy removal policy.
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Uzuegbu also said that the subsidy removal policy adversely affected the entire Nigeria economy and her citizenry, saying that the economic advisers who approved it made terrible mistake to have adopted Oil subsidy removal policy.
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While fielding questions from newsmen in his Onitsha office, Uzuegbu said that subsidy policy should have remained as it was, noting that Nigeria economic situation finally collapsed since oil subsidy removal policy was adopted by the present administration.
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According to him, “let us go back where we are before. We have not been shouting like this. There is no doubt that the economic situation of the country is dying. The level of hardship being expressed by the citizens of this country is quite enormous. The most challenging aspect of it is that the leadership of the country is not getting it right and they are not conscious of the fact that the hardship has gotten into different dimensions”
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The Chancellor of Diocese on the Niger noted that even the so called palliatives being shared for the citizens but due to stampede, a lot of people died which he said depict the extent of hunger, starvation, hardship and difficulties citizens are facing.
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He equally said that it has gotten to a stage when people who are going with haulage businesses are being mobbed and looted whatever they are carrying by the citizens as a result of hunger.
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” The present regime came out on May 27, 2023 and the first thing they did was to remove oil subsidy. How can you say that you removed oil subsidy without making adequate arrangements on how to take care of effects of subsidy removal. Fuel was sold at#187, but immediately oil subsidy removal was announced, fuel increased to #500. From #500 to #700 where we are now”
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” The ought to have done subsidy removal installmentally. As they are removing it, let them also increase the wages of civil servants and it will also control the economy in a such that people will not suffer the way they are suffering now. So, the populace are going through a lot of hardship but the way government is running the economy, there will be a time people will start eating from the dustbin which some people have even started doing”
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” There will be a situation people will be dropping dead in the street out of starvation and it will happen because our leaders who are in control of our resources do not know that all these things are happening. They don’t even listen to anybody. A lot of people have been airing their views on what to do but government is not prepared to do that” Chief Uzuegbu concluded.
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