Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for policy measures to protect Nigerian economy and well being of the citizens as Coronavirus ravage many countries across the world.
Abubakar, who was the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general election, made the call in a statement he issued on Tuesday in Abuja.
Abubakar said policy measures should be adopted to ensure that Nigerian economy did not return to recession due to effect of corronavirus effects.
Some of the policies recommended by Abubakar include the temporary suspension of Stamp Duty on all types of accounts and reduction in the price of petrol.
“The coronavirus is raging in the world and not just ravaging human beings, it is also affecting economies.
“Nigeria is not an island onto itself, and we must take measures to protect the economic well being of our nation and people.
“Every action that can be taken to ease the cost of doing business in Nigeria and reduce the cost of living, while promoting consumer confidence must be implemented.
“All hands must be on deck in a multi partisan manner to ensure that Nigeria does not return to economic recession. This is possible with decisive leadership and disciplined management.
“As such, I recommend that policies like the stamp duty on all types of accounts be temporarily suspended, until such a time as the nation’s economy has turned the tide in the fight against this virulent scourge.
“Furthermore, as the landing cost of petrol, also known as petrol, has reduced significantly, it is strongly recommended that the government should not absorb the savings.
“It should pass it on to the Nigerian people by way of reducing the pump price of petrol to reflect the current prevailing market costs,” he said.
Abubakar urged the government to request large scale industrialists and employers of labour not to disengage workers.
He said that definitely, the scourge of the virus would affect the companies production and profitability.
“However, if they know that the government is behind them and will do all to support them, they are less likely to disengage workers.
“These are extraordinary times, and we as a nation must take extraordinary measures to protect the entire nation.
“Nigeria is our collective home, as such, we must suppress every partisan disagreement and think and work patriotically to ensure our national survival in the midst of global uncertainty.” (NAN)
