Save private sector, Lori-Ogbebor tells FG

Rights activist, Chief Rita Lori-Ogbebor, has appealed to the Federal Government to save the private sector from imminent collapse, noting that the sector remains the engine of the economy.

Stating that costs were increasing virtually daily during a media briefing at the weekend in Lagos, the Igba of Warri Kingdom observed that government must do everything possible to make the environment conducive for private sector players and enable them to discharge their duties creditably to improve the economy through the provision of jobs.

She regretted that things have been tough for Nigerians, hence the need for urgent handling of the situation for the citizenry to enjoy dividends of democracy.

The Niger Delta women leader said the economy had become hard that many companies had packed up while those operating find it difficult to pay salaries.

On the recent pronouncement by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that natural resources, including oil, belong to Nigeria, the octogenarian pointed out the ex-President spoke patriotically based on the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

She said: “Obasanjo is a friend of the Niger Delta and we have been in the struggle leading to his (ex-leaders) establishment of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2000” when he held sway as Nigeria’s chief executive between 1999 and 2007.