The secretary to the government (SGF), Boss Mustapha has stated that the federal government of Nigeria is powerless against business owners who are using the novel coronavirus as an opportunity to increase the prices of their items.
He made this known during a press briefing by the presidential task force on the disease in Abuja, on Thursday.
He said:
“Government cannot do anything about profiteering. And that is the negative spirit we have as a people,” he said.
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“In the midst of a crisis, we want to maximise our profit. I know that we have this compassionate spirit as Nigerians, but sometimes we also have this exploitative spirit, that we take advantage of crisis in order to maximise profit.
“The Nigerian person as an individual has this compassion to care for his brother or sister. But when it comes to business, the exploitative spirit manifests itself like coronavirus manifests itself. So there is nothing government can do about it.”
“But we are only appealing to their conscience, that this is not the time for exploitation. This is the time for us to show compassion,” he added.