The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has said while it recognised President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to improve the national economy and modernise outdated systems, his reforms have led to high cost of living in the country.
It added that these changes have significantly made life difficult for majority of Nigerians, especially the youth, as many young people are struggling with unemployment and underemployment.
NYCN Vice President (North East), Bishop Kanatapwa, made the call while addressing a press conference on Monday in Abuja ahead of the planned August 2 protest.
The youth organisation called on the federal and state governments to introduce subsidies on food commodities as part of efforts to ameliorate the economic hardship faced by Nigerians, ahead of the August 1 nationwide protest.
The national youth body noted that there was a need for both the federal and state governments to swing into action to reduce prices of daily consumable goods like bread, garri, beans, yam, rice, among others to enable the downtrodden feed.
Kanatapwa stated: “We recognise President Tinubu’s efforts to improve the national economy and modernise outdated systems. However, these changes have significantly increased the cost of living, making life difficult for many, especially the youth. Many young people are struggling with unemployment and underemployment.
“These tough conditions have led many youths to support the planned hunger protests. The protest has gained strong backing from various youth leaders.”
He further called on government to grant importers of food items tax holidays immediately to help reduce prices of daily consumable goods.
Kanatapwa expressed concern that NYCN was being left out of important national programs and projects that require youth involvement, despite its support for national development and President Tinubu’s plans.
“Government at the federal and state level should swing into action to reduce prices of daily consumable goods like bread, garri, beans, yam, rice etc, to enable the downtrodden feed.
“Importers of consumable items should be granted granted Tax Holiday immediately to help reduce prices of daily consumable goods,” he said.
Protest: Tinubu’s reforms led to high cost of living – National Youth Council