Ogbu urges immediate action from Tinubu in response to widespread hunger protests

Professor of Economics at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Osita Ogbu said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as addressing Nigerians should call governors to a crisis meeting, reexamine fuel subsidy removal, floating of Naira.

The don disclosed this on Saturday in an interview with Channels Television monitored by DAIlLY POST.

He explained that the government’s simultaneously removing fuel subsidies and floating of the Naira in June last year major contributor to the hardship ravaging Nigeria.

According to to him, the ongoing protests, tagged #Endbadgovernance showed how Nigerians are dissatisfied with the policies of the government.

As a solution, he said, outside of palliatives, the government must create innovation and production hubs across states to halt the hardship.

“People have been saying the president should address the people, I think the president should call the state governors to a crisis meeting. Because there is an urgent need to industrialize the nation.

“The states must become hubs of innovation. A certain sum of money should be put outside to incentivize ideas they put on the table. I have always believed that the National Economic Council can be used better.

Ogbu called for a probe of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the major provider of the country’s foreign exchange earnings, to solve the Naira crisis at the FX market.

He added that there should be efficient fuel management and FX interventions by the government.

“The reason why petrol prices have not come down is because, as the country was removing fuel subsidies, it was also deregulating the foreign exchange market.

“We need to reexamine the activities of NNPCL. What I expect is that in the first six of any government, one or two refineries should be working. And it shouldn’t take a year. If this had taken NNPCL more than a year, the question should be asked.”

Speaking on Nigeria’s foreign exchange crisis, Ogbu said, “You watch your inflows and outflows and create a certain basket around it. You don’t just through it and say demand and supply. Remember, this is a country where the major supply of foreign exchange is one source.”

This comes as the hunger protests entered day three on Saturday.

Thursday and Friday’s protests recorded the loss of lives and protesters in Kano, Niger, Kaduna, Yobe, and other states.