FG making amends after cost-of-living protest -Rewane

The Federal Government is making adjustments and responding positively to public sentiment following on the Cost-of-Living protest which caused ripples across the country early August, says economist, Bismark Rewane.

Rewane, who is Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Derivatives Company, spoke during his monthly presentation at the Lagos Business School titled “Cost of Living Protest: Was It Politically Motivated or Hunger Induced?”

He listed the stimulus package, minimum wage, stabilisation measures and duty waiver on staples, as among the short-term measures signaling the Federal Government response and sensitivity and attested that the moves could ameliorate the harshness of the high cost of living in the country.

He further observed that the recent National Council of State meeting and the Patriot Group visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signalled a deliberate decision by the Federal Government to embrace and deepen consultations with diverse stakeholder groups.

He asserted that the impact of import duty waiver on essential commodities would definitely temper prices and have a knock-on effect on the costs of production, adding that the naira has steadied in the forex market and is beginning to appreciate marginally.

Rewane said, “The APC-led government faced a baptism of fire. As predicted, the faltering economy is the underbelly of the party. The leadership (of APC) has now come to terms with reality and is responding positively.

“The true position is now being laid bare. Economic data is now being released more frequently with greater integrity. Conciliatory moves are being made across the aisle.”

He said the good news is that damage control is beginning to work and there is a strong possibility of leadership changes at the management level.

He described the high cost of living as “a situation in which the cost of everyday essentials like groceries and bills are rising faster than average household incomes”.

He added that high cost of living in Nigeria also has a complex impact on Nigerian companies by affecting their cost structures, top and bottom-line growth, investment plans, work force management as well as operating margins.

He identified “high operating costs, reduced investment and innovation impacting business expansion, the decline in consumer spending due to low disposable income, lower demand fueled by higher prices” as ways the high cost of living affect businesses.

He attributed the potency of the current social crisis in Nigeria to economic hardship that is driven by multidimensional poverty, trust deficit, and credibility gap, adding that the government implemented “policy change without institutional reform” and curbing the “profligacy and lavish living by the government officials”.

The CEO of FDC advised the government to add institutional reform, synchronisation of its economic development plan and press the reset button to its short-term responses to reduce costs of governance and ensure equal sacrifice and sharing of burden among the citizenry.

He also averred that “reliance on IMF policies has been associated with increased economic hardship for the lower-income segments of society”.