Dons Eze
HARDSHIP IS REAL, PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING – ORJI UZOR KALU TELLS TINUBU
Former Abia State Governor and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has voiced out on the hardship and pains Nigerians have had to endure as a result of the policies introduced by President Bola Tinubu.
Kalu, during a press briefing at the National Assembly on Tuesday, said President Tinubu needs to deploy urgent means of succour to cushion the sufferings Nigerians are going through.
The former Governor, while acknowledging the fuel subsidy removal by President Tinubu as a bold and necessary move, lamented the economic hardship it has brought on all Nigerians and the need for the impact to be properly and urgently managed.
“The hardship is real; people are suffering. We manage about 10,000 workers in our group, and ensuring they are paid in this difficult time is a challenge,” Kalu said.
He added that his organization has also been forced to introduce some cost-saving measures due to the rising cost of things occasioned by the economic outlook in the country.
“If I fly anywhere, maintaining and fuelling a private plane costs between $10,000 and $20,000. I had to tell senior members of my company to fly commercially so we could save money to restructure and support our workers across Nigeria and West Africa.
Everyone must be able to eat in this time of hardship,” Kalu added.
The former Governor noted that President Tinubu has demonstrated strong political will by initiating economic reforms that no other leader has dared to do in the last sixty years, but called for quicker relief measures.
He said, “No president in the last 60 years has dared to do what President Tinubu is doing to reform the economy. But we need to bring succour to Nigerians immediately.
“He has to act today, not tomorrow, because the situation is dire. No president elected by the people would want his citizens to suffer.”
Kalu also suggested that the President might consider bringing back the fuel subsidy regime.
He said, “I’m not in the economic team; I have not seen the president or anyone to ask, but this is what (the return of the subsidy) the president has to sit with his economic team to discuss. The decisions he has taken are what no president in the 60 years of the republic has been able to take.”
Speaking about his absence from the media space, Kalu debunked rumours of his death, clarifying that he had officially taken time off to make some academic pursuits.
“There was nothing wrong with me. I took permission from the Senate President about seven days before the Senate went on recess. I enrolled in a course on democracy and the economy at a university, which I paid for myself.
“I didn’t die; I didn’t go for a medical check-up. But if people say I’ve died, we give thanks to God,” he added.
