National President, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ambali Olatunji, has decried the insensitivity of the Federal Government to the plight of Nigerians.

The NULGE chief said fuel subsidy removal and the devaluation of the naira has foisted untold hardships on Nigerians, especially workers. He urged the government to reduce the appointment of aides to reduce the cost of governance.

Olatunji spoke during the second NULGE National Youth Conference, Edo 2023, which had ‘Unleashing Youth Potentials for Improved Productivity and Service Delivery at sub-National Level in Nigeria’ as a theme and held in Benin City.

He stressed the need for the government to tackle hunger and poverty as well as rising inflation in the country, saying the government must show commitment to reducing poverty and hunger in the land by first reducing the number of ministers and aides appointed with their lavish take home and extravagant lifestyle.

“The retinue of aides at the federal level is unnecessary. You can’t say that Nigerians should tighten their belts, while you live an extravagant life. It is condemnable to Labour. We expect that ministers should at most not be more than 26, but the retinue of aides been appointed is unnecessary, “Olatunji said.

Olatunji called on the government to review wages immediately, noting that salaries should be increased by 30 and 35 per cent to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.

Describing as too hasty the decision of the Federal Government to remove subsidy, he vowed that NULGE would not hesitate to join other industrial unions to embark on strike, should the government fail to address the issue appropriately.

Olatunji urged the government to put in place measures aimed at reducing the burden placed on Nigerians saying providing buses to transport Nigerian workers was not the only way forward.

“What we need now is to provide more conversion centres in every state of the federation that will be able to convert PMS cars to CNG cars, which are very economical and affordable to Nigerians.

“Providing buses is not enough. What about individuals that have their vehicles, how do they keep their vehicles on the road? What happens to workers, how many of them can go on buses? We believe that wage review is the way to go.

“If we have enough conversion centres, people can take their vehicles there, and if the government wants to make it more affordable and convenient for Nigerians, the government can liaise with banks to grant soft loans to workers and the vulnerable, so that they will be able to take their vehicles for conversion at lesser cost and pay for it for some time.

He said there was a need to bridge the infrastructure gap in local government councils and make youths in the grassroots self-reliant by providing infrastructure for the development of council areas.