From TCNEWS
Umuahia Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, UCCIMA has decried the suffocation faced by the small businesses as a result of the hike in Premium Motor Spirit price and called for urgent action from the government.
Interacting with our correspondent through WhatsApp chat, the UCCIMA President, Chief Chidi Nkem Aruoma, lamented that most businesses are struggling amidst the rising cost of living in the country and also the escalating insecurity.
Aruoma who decried that millions of small businesses are dead already and many more are ailing and struggling to survive, passionately called on the Federal Government to urgently intervene and reverse the unwarranted increase in petrol prices.
“We are calling on the Federal Government to engage in constructive dialogue with relevant stakeholders, including the organized private sector and labour unions to address the concerns raised about the price increase and its potential effects on the economy. Honestly, this increase is another big blow, because quite a number of small businesses are dead already”, UCCIMA President bemoaned the fate of small business owners.
He observed that many persons have died from shutting their businesses, as some of the operators of Small businesses could not fulfil their loan obligations.