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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticised the Federal Government over the naira and fuel scarcity that has bedevilled the country in the final months of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.
The naira swap policy sought to replace the N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes with redesigned ones ahead of the February 25 and March 11 elections, while the months-long fuel scarcity has been blamed on cross-border smuggling.
The ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, in a statement on Thursday, said the governments at the federal, state and council levels appear enamoured of policies which aggravate the suffering of the mass of Nigerians.
He added that the Supreme Court ruling suspending the February 10 deadline on the naira design policy should somewhat mitigate the suffering of Nigerians occasioned by what he described as “yet another anti-poor policy.”
According to Osodeke, the “ambush tactic” of CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele to “eliminate cash” was applied in India in 2016 with unsalutary consequences.
“So, ASUU commends the Supreme court for siding with the suffering Nigerians whose miserable lives would have been compounded by Emefiele’s policy if they are not sent to their early graves by it.”
The ASUU president added that it is unimaginable that a transiting government would elect to “swim in an ocean of chaos” as exemplified by the currency swap crisis and scarcity of petroleum products on the eve of an election season.
“Let’s work with patriotic Nigerians in labour and civil society to resist anti-people policies and mitigate the people’s suffering.
“On our part, ASUU shall work closely with the new leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other patriotic Nigerians to protect and further the interests and well-being of all Nigerians at all time,” he said.
