Comrade Blessing Yusuf, Chairperson of the Federation of Informal Workers of Nigeria (FIWON) FCT chapter, has urged President Bola Tinubu to halt double taxation and anti-poor policies.
She made this appeal during a public symposium organized by FIWON and the Workers and Youth Solidarity Network (WYSN) in Abuja today.
The event, themed “Tinubu’s One Year in Office – A New Dawn?” with a sub-theme “Rising Cost of Living and Struggling for a Living Wage – What is the Hope for Working People?”, spotlighted the struggles faced by informal workers under Tinubu’s administration.
Yusuf criticized the recent policies that have worsened the living standards of ordinary Nigerians, pointing to the removal of subsidies, increased electricity tariffs, and multiple taxes as key issues.
Highlighting the significant contributions of the informal sector to the economy, she emphasized that these workers face insecurity and lack social protection.
She called for resistance against these harmful policies and stressed the urgent need for action to improve the situation in the informal sector.
Comrade Iortyom Moses from WYSN also spoke at the symposium, decrying the alarming levels of poverty, insecurity, and unemployment in Nigeria.
He criticized the government’s failure to implement the minimum wage and the widespread violence across the country.
Moses condemned the underfunding of education and called for collective efforts to address these national challenges.
He described the Tinubu administration not as a new dawn but as a series of calamities, accusing it of following the directives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
Other speakers at the event also condemned the Tinubu regime’s continued neoliberal policies, arguing that they further exacerbate the hardships faced by ordinary Nigerians.