The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has cautioned the Federal Government against churning out policies that aggravate inflation and harm the populace.
ABCON, which gave the warning in its Second Quarter Economic Review for the year, drew attention to the severe impact of the sharp rise in commodity prices triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine.
“Nigeria needs to balance fiscal sustainability with the need to mitigate the effects of these overlapping crises on the poorest citizens.
“The excruciating pressure on commodities, especially oil and gas globally is not exonerating the poor in Nigeria,” ABCON said.
“Galloping energy prices as being witnessed in Nigeria, with lower real incomes, increased production costs, tightened financial conditions, and constrained macroeconomic policy.
“Under these prevailing circumstances, the Government must avoid all distortionary policies such as multiple taxes, subsidies, and all fiscal tightening, which could worsen the recent increase in commodity prices”, the Association added.