The New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) has berated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the increase in the price of petrol from N537 to N617.
The President had during his inauguration on May 29 announced the removal of subsidy on fuel which then increased a litre from N195 to N537.
Speaking with Tribune Online in Abuja, NNPP’s national publicity secretary, Dr. Agbo Major, said the step taken by President Tinubu so far on fuel increase is not fair to Nigerians.
He said rather than bring relief to Nigerians, the increase in fuel price has further impoverished them while those in the oil sector and corridors of power are smiling to the banks.
Agbo, however, added there is a limit to what Nigerians can take while calling on Tinubu to rethink his economic policies and not push Nigerians to the wall.
“My position on this fuel increase all along has been that the government has not been fair to Nigerians. I have always insisted that if it were the NNPP government, we wouldn’t just say we are removing subsidy having identified that this subsidy payment is going into the pockets of individuals instead of reasons for which it is given.
“What you need to do is to check through the system, where is the leakage, where is it going to, so that you can redirect it to where it is supposed to go. Of course, you and I will only be speculating but of course, there are government functionaries who are not ghosts but certainly those in the oil industry and those in the top echelon of government who are benefitting from this situation.
“The truth is that an NNPP government would have first understood that the whole idea of subsidy is to make this thing affordable to ordinary people and to also make the cost of goods and services to the market easy. We (NNPP) would have checked through the system to see where the problems are, who are those stealing the supposed fuel subsidy money, and ensure that it serves the purpose that it should serve. Let the subsidy remain even if you are reducing it.
“I think the government is not fair to Nigerians. What is happening now is not acceptable but again, I don’t have a problem with the removal. The only thing I’ve been saying and which I will continue to say is that you don’t just remove something like that abruptly and subject people to this level of pain and agony. What we see now is pain, agony, and difficulties. In fact, this is not the way to go.
“It is not acceptable and it is going to pitch Nigerians against this government. Here we are moving from one pain to another. I think Nigerians are taking too much and I doubt if they will continue to have that patience to continue to take all of these,” the spokesman said.
