‘Strike, Watershed For Sustainable Dev’

The Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON) has described the face-off between the Federal Government and organised labour over the removal of fuel subsidy as a watershed for sustainable development.

Alhaji Rasheed Yussuff, the Chairman of the association told newsmen on Monday in Lagos that the six-day strike called by the NLC, TUC and civil society, revolved around issues of accountability, transparency and corruption in government.

While commending the Federal Government for shifting its position on the policy and labour for sustaining the struggle, Yussuff urged Nigerians to increase productivity to compensate for the national loss.

“We can only double our efforts and take advantage of the national consensus so that future gains, advancement and development will compensate for the six-day loss.”

Yussuff, who is also the Chief Executive Officer of Trust Yields Securities Limited, urged Nigerians to move forward, stressing that the opportunities missed during the strike would never be regained.

“We cannot gain what we have lost. We can only double our efforts and take advantage of the national consensus to make governance people-oriented and development-based.”

On the new pump price of N97 per litre of petrol, the chairman said: “The decision reached is a compromise; it does not allow full deregulation but at the same time, it is a step in the right direction but ultimately we have to deregulate.”

According to him, the strike has succeeded in enlightening and mobilising Nigerians to fight against corruption in government.

“Nigerians have fought a good fight which saw everybody as a winner in setting the platform for transparent and accountable deregulation of the oil industry.”