Abdulsalami Abubakar, a former head of state, says the federal government should put measures in place to “soften” the hardship being experienced by Nigerians.
Speaking on Tuesday when he hosted a delegation of Campaign for Democracy (CD), a civil society organisation (CSO), in Minna, Niger state, Abubakar said the hardship appears to be out of control.
The former military ruler said he would continue to urge the government to put measures in place to address the hardship that the citizens are currently experiencing.
“Everybody is crying because of this hardship and it seems to be getting out of control,” he said.
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“People cannot afford three square meals, the issue of transportation, the hike in fuel price, the hike in school fees for the children and the lack of funds in everybody’s pocket is making life difficult for everybody.
“We will continue to encourage the government to introduce measures to soften the hardship.
“The federal, states and local governments should see how they can cushion this economic hardship.”
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Abubakar said in recommendations, the government has been informed that giving palliatives is not the solution to addressing high prices of food items.
“There is a need for the government to flood and saturate the communities with food,” he said.
“Let them buy food and sell at lesser prices to the people so that people will try to buy some of these food items depending on their pockets/ income.”
The former head of state said those planning to protest against the economic crisis on October 1 should do so peacefully.
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“For God’s sake when you demonstrate, do it peacefully,” he said.
Abubakar said the government should listen to the demands of the protesters.
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