Buhari’s Govt Hands Off Palliative Implementation
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, says the government will hand over the implementation of petrol subsidy removal’s palliative measures to the incoming administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said this at the State House in Abuja yesterday during the weekly ministerial briefing organised by the Presidential Communication Team.
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Applesbite recalls that the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, had, on March 15, said no conclusion had been reached on how to lessen the likely impacts of the proposed fuel subsidy removal on the citizenry.
He had said a committee headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had been working on palliatives for about a year though nothing had been agreed upon.
But Ngige yesterday said: “The subsidy palliatives will be left to the incoming government to implement. We’ll simply hand over to them.
“Of course, we’ll give recommendations which they’re at liberty to either accept or reject.”
Ngige also said the economy suffered in 2015 and 2020 due to the recessions.
He said unemployment in Nigeria had more than quadrupled since 2015.
Ngige said the incoming administration should consider the blueprint on Job Creation Office under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
He said his ministry was collaborating with United States Labour Department to stop child labour, adding that “They make available $75m to fight poverty in cocoa and minerals producing areas in Nigeria.”
He said the issue of pay rise for the Nigerian workers was being addressed, noting that the quantum of money for the pay rise was the issue.
He said the amount to be paid would be based on the availability of funds and the ability to pay.
On the migration of Nigerian professionals to other countries, Ngige said nobody would stop migration.
He said the government had apprehended the threat of protest by the Nigeria Labour Congress against the Central Bank of Nigeria over naira scarcity.
He said dialogues, coordinated by his ministry, had happened and the CBN had taken steps to remedy the situation.
