Yemisi Izuora
Chief Adesunbo Onitiri,a renowned socio-political activist has advised the Federal and Lagos State Governments not to extend the ongoing lockdown in Lagos State and Abuja.
Rather, President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu should as a matter of urgency, find ways to relax it, he said.
He warned that any extension of the lockdown might lead to aggravated aggression borne out of hunger and immeasurable suffering by the masses.
“Lagosians in particular “, he noted, “can no longer bear the hunger and sufferings. The palliative measures of the government has
Very failed woefully to placate the sufferings.
“This has been acknowledged by Governor Sanwo-Olu himself. The palliatives have been cornered by greedy politicians. They have not reached the targeted audience.”
Chief Onitiri said what the government should do urgently is to peg the astronomical rise in food prices, provide drugs in government hospitals and offer free healthcare packages for the people.
“This is the time to suspend taxes and drastically reduce tax for the poor masses and provide free electricity for the poor.
“Our banks should pay every Lagosian with less than One hundred thousand naira turnover N5,000 every month and stop unnecessary bank charges instead of the huge donations to the government,” he said.
On the N500 billion palliative fund appeal, Onitiri said he would not subscribe to the spending of such money for the Covid 19 palliative, “as it will lead to another conduit pipe for looting of our commonwealth and free money for the boys.”
“If there is any lesson to be learnt from this Covid 19 pandemic, it is that we need to improve our healthcare system and education. We need to spend more on education of the masses and our health care.”
Onitiri also admonished that Nigeria should not plunder our little resources on Covid 19 pandemic as the future global economy is gloomy.
“Oil prices, a critical driver of the Nigeria’s economy has crashed from the budget benchmark of $57 per barrel to less than $20 amidst other worsening implications of the pandemic with forecasts of Impending recession on a global scale” he observed.
Onitiri called on all GSM networks providers should be reduce their tariffs on both local and international calls for subscribers in the country.
This is the time to also reduce VAT charges on all sales and purchases of goods and services to 2.5 per cent. These measures will go a long way to assuage the suffering of the masses instead of donating huge sums that might be looted.
Onitiri added that aside from improving our healthcare system and education sector, we need to diversify our economy from oil dependence to agriculture.
