The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has accused International agencies of swaying the Federal Government with policy recommendations that have affected the economy negatively.
At a press conference in Abuja on Monday, President of TUC, Festus Osifo lamented that Nigerians have never witnessed this level of hardship before even during military regimes, adding that the problems are not unconnected to the government’s poor patronage of locally made products and services, and lack of capable hands at the helm of affairs.
Osifo said, “Nigerians must live to see tomorrow before we can understand how beautiful a government policy is. The national pride of striving to achieve food sufficiency locally should be temporarily relaxed. Governments at all levels should immediately purchase sufficient quantities of food items from different parts of the world and share them with vulnerable Nigerians.
“Importing food abroad at this point will assist to reduce the hyper-inflation of food in the country. FG should allow importation of food items for Nigerians consumption within the next two weeks.”
The labour union also called on the President to as a matter of urgency strengthen the economic management team of his administration and also look beyond party or tribal lines to headhunt the best Nigerians throughout the world who could sit down and develop homegrown solutions to the hardship menace.
The body accused the International Monetary Fund, the IMF, and the World Bank of being behind the high cost of living in the country through their advice for the removal of subsidy on petroleum products and electricity tariffs and told the government to stop following the dictates of the two world bodies.
Responding to enquiries on whether it would participate in the protest, Osifo responded: “So, it is when you jointly agree, right? That you want to do something. When you agree jointly that is the way to go and along the line you now decided that you are not doing again.”
“Comrades, can any of you show us where there is any agreement for us coming together? Whenever we are doing things together you always see us together addressing you. On that particular day, did you see any members of TUC there?”
