What local govt councils can do to salvage situation – Official

The Chairperson of Nsukka Local Government Area in Enugu State, Walter Ozioko, has spoken on what local government authorities in Nigeria should do to address worsening economic hardship in the country.

Nigerians have been battling severe economic hardship in recent times as prices of commodities continue to increase.

Many families are struggling as a result of the situation.

Aside from pockets of protests by ordinary Nigerians recently across the country, members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) held a nationwide protest on Tuesday against the economic hardship in the country.

What can be done

Speaking on how to address hardship in Nigeria, Mr Ozioko, a lawyer, said, as a first step, local government authorities should equip teeming unemployed youths with creative skills to be productive.

The chairperson said he had already invested in setting up a skill acquisition centre in the council area to encourage productivity and reduce over-reliance on imported products.

He spoke on Friday in Enugu, shortly after receiving an award as the most performing local government chairperson of the year 2023 from a local media outfit, Degavoice Media Services Limited.

“Part of the problem we have in this country is that we are an import-based economy. And once most of the things we consume are imported, we are bound to suffer hardship and inflation,” he said.

“We are bound to suffer an economic downturn and that affects everybody, even the rich. So, I believe in people engaging in creative activities – learning skills like shoe making, sewing and others,” Mr Ozioko added.

He called for Nigeria to deploy agriculture to solve the food crisis in the country.

“We can import cars and others, but let’s not import what we eat. Let’s go into cassava production. Let’s engage in agriculture. That will help.”

‘Why federal government is under pressure over hardship’

Mr Ozioko said the federal and state governments have been under intense pressure to fix Nigeria because of poor performances of local government authorities in the country.

“I want to tell you that if every local government in Nigeria is working hard, there will be less pressure on the federal and state governments,” he said.

“This is because we are close to the people. The people are closer to us than the federal government,” the chairperson stated.

He, however, argued that a two-year tenure for the local government chairpersons in Nigeria is “too short” for chairpersons who are determined to work hard.