By Charles Abere
A non-governmental organisation, Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), has called for practical palliatives to alleviate the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy on Nigerians.
The group’s Executive Director, Ms Faith Nwadishi, made the call at a Pre-National Dialogue on subsidy removal supported by a company, Palladium in Abuja.
According to her, “the removal of the fuel subsidy has had far-reaching implications on the lives of our people.
“It is evident that vulnerable communities have borne the brunt of the hardship caused by this policy change.
“As leaders at the forefront of societal change, it is our responsibility to craft concrete and evidence-based recommendations that address these challenges and advocate for effective palliatives to alleviate their burden.”
Nwadishi said that the pre-dialogue would culminate in a one-day National Dialogue to be coordinated by the CTA.
“The national dialogue which will feature egg-heads in the civil society space and technocrats is expected to expose ways through which the suffering being experienced by majority of Nigerians over the subsidy policy can be ameliorated.
“The proposed national dialogue, partly facilitated by the USAID-SCALE project and Palladium.
“We will engage in thoughtful discussions, brainstorming, and collaborative problem-solving.
“Together, we will explore sustainable solutions that ensure transparency, accountability, and citizen participation in decision-making processes.”
Mr Muna Ugochukwu, Programme Officer Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) said:”the situation at hand calls for thinking out of the box.
“We need government to demonstrate a level of sacrifice and accountability; we need them to make concrete statements as to when our refineries will begin to work.”