Some civil servants working in Abuja have appealed to the Federal Government to take immediate actions to ameliorate their sufferings, saying life has not been easy for them since the removal of fuel subsidy.
The workers said costs of living in Abuja has become unbearable for them, calling for the government’s intervention to cushion the effects of the present conditions.
One of the civil servants, Felicia Anthony, said she was finding it so difficult to cope with lot of challenges ranging from children’s school fees, her house rent, and transportation to work with her salary.
“It has not been easy since the removal of fuel subsidy. Before now when you have N400, you can go as far as from New Nyanya to town and return back but now, even N1000 is not enough.
“It is very difficult and I will like to see government roll out palliatives to cushion the effects of this subsidy because its removal generally has caused the hike in the price of both goods and services.
“It is my prayers that the Federal Government should assist citizens because as it is now, an ordinary civil servants can no longer cope with the present salary,” Anthony told NAN.
She, however, called on the government to look into the plights of the citizens and see how to increase their salaries.
She also called on the government to look into ways to check price control of goods and services.
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The civil servant added: “There was a time we used to have price control of goods and services in this country because there were taskforce or measures to do so but now, everybody is selling as she or he likes in the name of subsidy removal and this has also aggregated the situation in the country.
“I am saying this because it is not everybody who is working as civil servants, even those working at private firms find it so hard at this present time. Something should be done about this because things are getting out of hands. “
Speaking on the proposed increment of minimum wage in 2024, Anthony said it was unreasonable to have removed subsidy when there was nothing added to the workers’ salary, saying it has caused additional suffering to Nigerians.
Another civil servant, Ukwa Denis, said the current economic situation was unbearable not only the civil servants in Abuja but to all Nigerians, adding that everyone is buying from the same market and pursuing the same goals of good living.
“The situation has been so hectic in a sense that much consideration was not put in place before the decision of subsidy removal,” he lamented.
Denis stated that the nation’s refineries and the petroleum industries should have been resuscitated before any action taken to reduce the effect of the subsidy removal.
He said: “We all know that the subsidy was removed by the previous government but all the same, this new government coming on board should have been prepared taking into consideration the ripple effects.
“And for us as civil servants, our salaries cannot take us to anywhere considering the present economic situations with the megger salaries we are earning now, so the situation is not something we can cope with anymore.
“I am appealing to the government to look inward and think of how to ameliorate the suffering of civil servants and the rest of Nigerians who are not working in the government sectors.”
On his part, Muhammed Idris, said he sees no reason why Nigerians should suffer in the midst of abundance, including the gift of oil as part of God’s given wealth.
Idris, therefore, appealed to President Bola Tinubu to make provisions to salvage the situation, adding that the repair of refineries should also be considered as top priority in his administration.
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