The Campaign for Equal Rights and Opportunities for all Nigerians, CERON, has observed that policies of the All Progressives Congress-led government have made life unbearable to Nigerians, driving many into abject poverty.
According to the group, “Nigerians are obviously unhappy and distraught with happenings in the country and the Federal Government seems unperturbed even when the general election is just a few weeks away.”
Francis Odiir, the CERON Secretary, in a statement, explained that the lingering fuel scarcity and the sudden increase in its pump price have not only subjected Nigerians to unbearable hardship but have also further impoverished the already economically battered masses.
He said that the situation has also been made worse by the sudden rush to redesign the Naira and have old notes withdrawn from circulation by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, saying that while no one is against the apex bank carrying out its statutory responsibilities as regards the management of Nigeria’s currency, the manner it is going about the redesign and deadline for withdrawal of old notes is rather subjecting Nigerians to untold hardship without apology.
The group noted that just a few weeks ago, Nigerians woke up to realise that the electricity tariff has been jerked up with the Federal Government ignoring calls to order a reversal.
The statement explained that the ruling party in the country has given Nigerians the impression that the government is happy to see the masses suffer, saying that cooking gas is already out of the reach of Nigerians who have resorted to firewood and charcoal.
The statement added that even kerosene, commonly used by poor families, is out of the reach of the masses because a litre goes for as high as N900.
Worst still, the statement stated that the wages of Nigerian workers could no longer take them home as the spiralling inflation in the country has seen the currency steadily lose its value, with everything tumbling and millions of Nigerians dropping into excruciating poverty.
It lamented that the people in government are using every given opportunity to create the impression that the government is doing well when in reality, it is not.
“The truth is that Nigerians are not happy and you do not need a soothsayer to tell you that,” the statement explained.