July 24, (THEWILL) – The National President of Igbo Town Unions (ASITU), Chief Emeka Diwe, has advised the Federal government to display transparency and accountability when sharing fuel subsidy removal palliatives across the country.
He advised the government to fashion out a workable methodology that would satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians, as against what played out during COVID-19.
Chief Diwe made this known while interacting with newsmen in Owerri, the capital of Imo state.
According to him, most Nigerians have lost trust and confidence in the promise of the federal government, as previous palliatives were diverted by governors to their private warehouses.
The group boss, however, revealed that the bane of the nation is the uneven distribution of the oil wealth, as few cabals gang up to milk the country dry to the disadvantage of the common man.
His words, “Government all over the world caters for the interest of the citizenry. In Nigeria, the reverse is the case, as few persons benefit tremendously from the commonwealth. We must reverse this ugly trend in the interest of peace and tranquillity.
“The removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government of Nigeria is affecting the poor masses negatively, and something must be done urgently to ameliorate the pains. The discovery of oil should be a comparative advantage to Nigerians.”
Chief Diwe stressed that the disparity in the distribution of oil wealth in Nigeria to favour mainly the top echelon represents the marginalisation that the Igbos have continually complained about.
He observed that oil wealth, which is about 80 percent of the nation’s wealth, is shared mostly among the highly connected, reflecting how subsidy removal affects the poor masses.
He revealed that the subsidy only made a few people stupendously rich and these people, according to him, are among the top-placed politicians.
Chief Diwe noted that the “Igbo man’s genetic ingenuity, his resilience and doggedness will surely enable him to swim out faster” from the general hardship the subsidy removal caused the common man.
He observed that the discovery of oil in Nigeria has caused economic ‘doom’ rather than a boom.
According to him, before the oil “boom” South East used to be the fastest growing economy in Africa with its rich agricultural produce, such as palm oil production and rubber, which were exported for foreign exchange, but were abandoned when crude oil was found in Nigeria.
He described oil money as ‘lazy man’s money” that ruined Nigeria’s economy. The ASITU National President urged the Igbos not to be dampened by the much-talked-about fuel subsidy removal, but to be resolute and committed to hard work.
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