Adams Oshiomhole, the senator representing the Edo North Senatorial District, asserted that President Bola Tinubu inherited a challenging economic situation from the previous administration.
Oshiomhole made these remarks in an interview with journalists following a private meeting with Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday.
The ex Edo state governor highlighted that some of the decisions undertaken by President Tinubu’s administration mark the initial strides towards revitalizing the economy.
He commended President Tinubu for his boldness and resolve in tackling corruption within the subsidy system and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), while urging Nigerians to exercise patience.
Meanwhile, Oshiomhole expressed his confidence in the swift resolution of issues stemming from the removal of fuel subsidy between the Federal Government and organized labor. He emphasized that President Tinubu is acutely aware of the impact the subsidy withdrawal has on Nigerians and is committed to promptly mitigating its effects.
Oshiomhole stated, “This president recognizes that the effect of the withdrawal is already here, people are already going through some level of discomfort and therefore there has to be an immediate solution to it.
“Now that immediate solution is what we discussed and the fact that we are meeting on Tuesday again shows that clearly, we realize that this is not one of those things you want to buy time because it has a real negative impact, on particularly, the most vulnerable group.
“But we have a solution to it because you are going to make savings, so take from that savings or even if it is borrowing.
“So, whatever it is, you can leverage some revenue and improve wages to cushion the cost of living, I think it is legitimate, I think it is doable, it is not something that you want to spend two to three months negotiating,”
It’s worth recalling that Oshiomhole participated in a meeting between the Federal Government and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) on Sunday. He characterized the meeting as productive and indicated that the government will review all demands put forth by the TUC and respond by Tuesday.
Oshiomhole emphasized that if Nigeria can save around N7 trillion by discontinuing the subsidy, a portion of that sum could be allocated to the wage sector. “because those savings will go into the federation account which will be distributed among the three tiers of government and so every tier of government will have more money and should be able to meet the consequential increase in wages.”