Following the current socioeconomic challenges imposed on Nigerians by the removal of the fuel subsidy, the
Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, CIPM Kwara state branch, has converged on Ilorin the Kwara State Capital to brainstorm towards finding solutions to the daunting challenges.
Speaking at the Second Annual Conference of the Institute, Chairman of the state branch of the institute, Mrs Olaide Gloria Ajiboye, said the conference became expedient due to the current challenges affecting countries around the world, particularly human resources managers.
She asserted that as human resources managers, “we thought we should gather and brainstorm towards finding solutions to the socioeconomic challenges and present to the government.”
“We want to proffer solutions for the current challenges triggered by the removal of the fuel subsidy and its attendant socio-economic consequences among others on the citizens.
She said ” We look at the issue around the world in Nigeria, the issue of the change of naira, the issue of fuel prices that keeps on increasing everyday is also challenging to many organisations in the country.
” Many organisations that run their services on buying fuel are crippling, they are suffering, they are finding it difficult to survive some of them are even laying off their staff.
” it is challenging to the human resources practitioners, because as human resources practitioners, it is difficult for you to lay your hands and begin to lay off your staff that have worked for you in the past, staff that have contributed to the growth of the organisation you begin to lay them off because of the effect of the increase in prices, high inflation that is affecting the cost of production.
“We now thought as human resources practitioners, we should gather and proffer solutions, brainstorm and compile some of the solutions that the government can use after this programme to make sure that we surmount all these problems that are affecting our industries and human resources Practitioners, ” she added.
The lead speaker at the conference, Dr Christiana Famro, who spoke on the theme “Human Resource Management In Challenging Times”, described challenging times as universal phenomenum and not peculiar to Nigeria only.
She noted that challenging times as characterized by considerable stress, when great difficulties and turbulence are to be overcome or endured by the citizens.
Also speaking, a University lecturer in Ilorin, Professor Abdullateef Oladimeji, faulted the Federal government for not making enough preparations before implementing the fuel subsidy removal.
Professor Abdullateef Oladimeji Dean, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Al-Hikman University, Ilorin, said the government, would prepared the minds of Nigerians before the stoppage of the fuel subsidy.
Prof Oladimeji in an interview with journalists on the sideline of the programme said although, all the presidential candidates of all the major political parties in the 2023 general elections promised to remove the fuel policy, “the preparation would have been to put measures in place to cushion the effects of the policy on Nigerians, but unfortunately, here we are.”
Professor Abdullateef, further observed that the palliative programme and reduction of work-days by the government to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal, may not solve the problems triggered by the policy.
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