Deregulation: Group seeks palliatives for vulnerable Nigerians

The Nigerian Natural Resource Charter (NNRC) has advised the Federal Government to provide palliatives for vulnerable Nigerians to cushion the impact of the deregulation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in the country.

The NNRC, a non-profit policy institute that promotes the effective management of natural resources for public good, gave the advice in a statement by its Programme Coordinator, Ms Tengi George-Ikoli, on Thursday in Lagos.

According to her, such palliatives include tax reliefs for small businesses, electricity credits and transportation targeted reliefs in general in the short term.

She also advised the government to support initiatives that get more resources into the hands of Nigerians in the long term.

George-Ikoli said the government ought to have staggered the full implementation of its deregulation policy, which commenced in March 2020.

She said if that had been implemented, Nigerians would now be used to the natural ebb and flow of price changes reflected by a commodity traded on the global market.

“That opportunity was lost and Nigerians have not had the opportunity to benefit from low prices and would no doubt bulk at increasing prices beyond what they may potentially be able to afford.

“The government must now put in place palliatives that may directly impact the Nigerians that the price hike may affect,” George-Ikoli said.