Nigeria has lost between N100 and N144 billion daily due to the strike action called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to protest the over 116 per cent increase in the price of premium motor spirit, also called petrol.? This puts Nigeria’s total loss due to the five day sit-at-home protest at between N500 billion and 720 billion.
According to the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Nigeria loses an estimated N100 billion daily due to the grounding of the economy. The computation is based on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is currently projected at N39.89 trillon.
Sanusi said he expected inflation to rise to around 14-15 percent by the middle of this year, up from 10.5 percent now as the impact of subsidy removal is felt on prices.
“Clearly, inflation was always going to go up with the removal of subsidy. I think what we’ve seen is the immediate shock impact of a sudden removal and things will settle down,”
He said: “I took the country about two and a half years from 2009 to come down to single-digit from 15.6 per cent. I think a realistic target is if we actually hit 15 per cent, I think we will be looking at end of 2013 before we come back to single-digits”, in a television programme monitored in Lagos.
He warned that inflation will rise between now and the first half of 2012. “Clearly inflation was always going to go up with the removal of subsidy. I think what we’ve seen is the immediate shock impact of a sudden removal and things will settle down.? It took us? one and half to two years from 2009 to come down to single-digit from 15.6 per cent. I think a realistic target if we actually hit 15 per cent, we will be looking at end of 2013 before we come back to single-digits”.
Sanusi, however, said government was capable of continuing to maintain pump price regime of N 65, but cannot continue to play the role of “Father Christmas” as it was injurious to the economy. “Look, the Federal Government can continue paying subsidy at N65 per litre for a while. I am not saying that it is not economically possible for that to be done, but speaking as a Nigerian, I will like to see a win-win situation”.