Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria blames subsidy removal for current inflation

PRESIDENT Tinubu's policies have been blamed for the current economic crisis in the country by the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) which asserts that the administration's reforms are responsible for today's runaway inflation.

Nigeria is currently reeling from the impact of chronic hyper-inflation, with the cost of basic food prices soaring and rising on a daily basis. Some economists have put the crisis down to President Tinubu's decision to abolish petrol subsidies, which they say resulted in higher transport costs, which had a knock-on effect in other sectors of the economy.

With Nigeria's minimum wage a mere N30,000 ($20) per month, ordinary workers are struggling to afford basic staple foods like rice, gari, yam, cooking oil, noodles, bread, etc. In a desperate attempt to address the problem, last week, President Tinubu ordered the release of national food stocks.

Reverend Father Lucius Ugorji, the CBCN president, said that inflation had rendered it challenging for the typical Nigerian to afford essential commodities, such as food items and medication. Making his point during his welcome speech at the commencement of the CBCN  first plenary assembly in Abuja the bishop noted that this inflation problem is causing untold hardship for most Nigerians.

Reverend Father Ugorji said: “The reform agenda of the present government has added to the plight of Nigerians. With the withdrawal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange market, there has been a sharp increase in the pump price of petroleum products and a steep decline in the value of the naira. Indeed, there is a free fall of the national currency.

“As a result of the government’s reform agenda, millions of Nigerians have been reduced to a life of grinding poverty, wanton suffering, and untold hardship as never before in our national history. In a bid to survive, an increasing number of the poor have resorted to begging.

"With more than 80m Nigerians living under the poverty line of less than two dollars a day, our country, according to the recent disclosure of the World Bank, is the world’s second-largest poor population after India. While many impoverished Nigerians continue to suffer and die as a result of the hardship caused by the government’s economic reforms, the president has continued to urge the populace to make even more and more sacrifices with the assurance that brighter days lay ahead."

He added that as the government demanded additional sacrifice from the struggling masses, Nigerians were expecting to see a drastic cut in the cost of running the government at all levels. On insecurity, the bishop said despite the money appropriated monthly as security votes, communities continued to experience persistent insecurity, noting that recently, there has been an upsurge in kidnapping for ransom and an increase in cases of bloodshed across the country.

Archbishop Daniel Okoh,  the president of the Christian Association Nigeria, added: “The high level of insecurity, runaway inflation and hunger are areas of serious concern. I am confident that the state of our nation shall be exhaustively discussed with sincerity and humility at the plenary as usual.”

In his opening remarks at the summit, Senator George Akume, the secretary to the government of the federation, said that the country is relying on the clergymen for encouragement. Dr Olayemi Cardoso, the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, for his part, blamed the high inflation rate in the country on so much liquidity in the market.