Business
Price Of Goods Not Reducing Despite Naira Gaining Against Dollar – Accord Party Tells FG
The Accord Party has expressed concerns over the staggering price of foodstuff and goods in Nigeria under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The political party urged the Federal Government to enhance its efforts in stabilizing commodity prices in the country, emphasizing that the strengthening of the naira against the US dollar has not been mirrored in the prices of goods.
Nation Post observed that the Nigerian currency, Naira, has been regaining its value against the Dollar recently. However, this has not had any visible effect on the price of goods.
Speaking during a recent interview with journalists in Lagos, Dele Oladeji, the Lagos State Chairman of the Party, highlighted the eagerness of Nigerians for a decrease in the prices of consumer goods and food items, stressing the need for the government to address all factors contributing to inflation and work towards stabilizing commodity prices.
“To crash the prices of consumer goods and food items, the plethora of high import duties, levies, and fees at the port, road, and markets must be revisited, reviewed, slashed, or removed.
“Many Nigerians have always wondered why the price of goods are not reducing to reflect the crash in the dollar rate against the naira.
“The dollar rate is just one of several factors that affect trade and production.
“Without a slash in or removal where necessary, of persisting high import duties on production materials and machinery; with the high levies and fees from local governments on goods on transit; warehouses and those in markets; prices of consumer goods will remain high and continue to rise, in reaction to these plethora high fees and levies,” Oladeji said.
He claims that a superficial tax holiday and rebate for certain manufacturers are merely benefiting the excessively wealthy industrialists, without any effect on the overall population.
”Such tax rebates and tax holidays should come with a conditional agreement to subsidise prices of the produce.
”The FG has to look more into and resolve these other contributory factors to create respite and a reversal of rising prices in consumer goods and food items,” Oladeji added.
