commissioner admonishes kogi workers
Lokoja
Kogi State Government has advised workers to brace up for tough time as it commenced the payment of full salaries for March.
Mukadam Asiwaju Asiru Idris, Commissioner of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning said this while speaking with newsmen in Lokoja.
He said inspite the shortfall in monthly allocation to the state, the government was able tomeet its obligations to its workforce.
Idris said the shortfall was occasioned by the Covid-19 scourge ravaging the world, adding that disease, along side austerity measures due to the fall in oil price, called for retrospection amongst the citizens.
The commissioner, who observed that oil, the nation’s mainstay, “currently sells for 20 dollars in the global market, expressed fears of tougher times.”
He explained that as from the April1, Saudi Arabia, an oil producing competitor with Nigeria, would sell Arab light at $10.25 a barrel discount to Dated Brent.
Idris also rxpressed worry that Kuwait dropped $7 of its price to NW Europe ,Iraq, $4 of its price to Europe and Iran $6 of its price for April Cargos to Europe.
Explaining the international politics behind oil price, the commissioner said: “It means that tougher time lies ahead for the economy.
“That shock has amplified the epic battle between Russia and Saudi Arabia. First, Russia refuses to cut production despite the obvious need for less supply.
“That refusal is driven by the desire to drown high-cost US producers in a sea of cheap crude in the hope of recapturing market share.
” Saudi Arabia responded by threatening to ramp up production and slashing prices further still. That caused a historic collapse in oil prices — exactly the opposite of what was needed to stabilise the shaking market,” he said.
On his advice to citizens, particularly workers in this period of austerity, Idris also urged them to invest wisely, particularly on education and feeding.
He admonished the workers not to embark on gigantic projects that does not have direct bearing on their lives and those of their people.
