Wike: Nigerians Are Just Complaining, The Cost Of Living Has Never Been High, It Has Always Existed

September 21, 2024 AW News Politics News 0

Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has disagreed with the general worries about growing expenses, saying that price increases shouldn’t be the main priority. He made the point that the fundamental problem is the poor purchasing power of investors, which is made worse by the state of the economy right now. The idea that Nigerians should be complaining about the high cost of living was rejected by him, as he pointed out that grievances regarding rising costs have always existed, even in the past.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
He emphasized that Nigeria operates a capitalist economy, where market forces largely dictate prices. While acknowledging that the government can set regulations, he argued that it cannot fully control market processes. According to him, the high costs affect everyone, including the wealthy, and should not be blamed solely on the system. Instead, he called for adjustment and recognition that the market ultimately determines these economic realities.

He said in an interview with Symfoni, “I don’t agree with people about all increases in everything today. So that should not be the issue that you want us to make the more to say that a two-bedroom flat should not be more than N50,000 for example or N100,000. I don’t think that’s the problem now. The purchasing power is very low for investors because of economic effect on us. I don’t agree with Nigerians saying that the cost of living is high. I don’t sincerely agree with that. There’s never been a time that Nigerians never complained about increasing rates. There was a time even as a student, when I was in university, I wanted to go and rent maybe a self-contained [apartment] at that time and they said I should pay N100,000 a year. We also complained. N100,000 a year was too high.

Are we running a socialist government? Are we running a Communist system where everything is controlled? No. We are running a capitalist economy, and these things are driven by the market forces. Yes, government can come in by setting some regulations, but the government cannot totally take over the entire process. This is something that affects everyone. Even the rich are not exempt from it. Everything today is expensive, but that’s not something that we can blame solely on the system. We are all adjusting, and like I said, it is the market that determines these things. The government can intervene, but it can’t fully control it.”CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>