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PDP, Labour Party Drag President Tinubu’s Policy Over Petrol Price Hike
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party unanimously condemned the hike in the price of petrol on Wednesday, stating that President Tinubu’s decision is ‘reckless’.
BrandNewsDay reports that in contracts to the opposition parties’ reactions, the All Progressives Congress attributed the pump price increase to market forces.
Speaking on the fuel price hike in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, the PDP Deputy National Youth Leader, Timothy Osadolor, said Nigerians were struggling because President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy without fully grasping its significance.
“I think this is a true reflection of the insensitivity of President Tinubu’s government. This incessant increase in fuel prices is a result of his policy inconsistencies and the recklessness of his government in their words and actions.
“You will recall that only a few hours after President Tinubu was sworn in, without having the backing or the knowledge of the economic situation of the country that he had just begun to govern, he started making reckless comments about the most important lifeline of the country, which is a subsidy, and the oil sector.
“He was speaking without understanding the mathematics and the arithmetic behind the energy sector in the country. That statement triggered a lot of negative reactions across the economic sector of the country.
“You will recall again that just a few days after that, the naira started depreciating against the dollar. He then instructed his tax minister, who is the governor of the CBN, whose only responsibility is to increase taxes and generate revenue. However, tax generation and tax collection are not the best or ideal ways to grow any economy worldwide.”
Osadolor expressed concern over the naira devaluation, noting that Nigeria’s status as an importing nation meant everything was linked to the dollar.
He added, “He made a bogus statement about the Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries all coming online. Meanwhile, in this year’s annual budget, we saw billions of naira allocated to the Port Harcourt refinery and other refineries in this country.
“As we speak, not only have those funds been spent, but there is no value for that money, and there is nobody in jail or being prosecuted for the misappropriation and embezzlement of those billions of naira.
“President Tinubu has shown that within the confines of the villa, he does not hear the cries of the common man in Benin, the common woman in Warri, or the common Nigerian in Daura. He is insensitive to the plight of Nigerians because he is too comfortable.’’
The National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifoh, told The PUNCH that they warned Nigerians against voting President Bola Tinubu into office.
He said, “This is what the Labour Party has been warning Nigerians about. We told them a long time before the election that this thing would happen, that the man they planned to bring in was a tax master who would stop at nothing to inflict pain on Nigerians.
“Remember that the NNPCL boss told us that the President is comparing Nigeria with neighbouring countries where fuel sells for over N2,000 per litre. They may be targeting that now that fuel is officially above N1,000 and in some places, it may go as high as N1,600. From the look of things, it is gradually approaching the N2,000 mark.’’
He added, “There is a whole lot of confusion in this government and the centre can no longer hold. That is why we keep saying that in as much as there is nothing anyone can do now, Nigerians should continue praying to witness 2027 so they can use their votes to do what is needed.
‘’But the LP has a template to reverse some of these anomalies and obnoxious policies we are witnessing to get Nigeria working again. The longer we stay with this government, the more penury Nigerians will face.”
National Chairman, of the Social Democratic Party, Shehu Gabam, questioned the Federal Government on what they hoped to accomplish with the ongoing increases in petroleum pump prices.
He stated, “That is the level of deterioration the country is experiencing, along with hunger, poverty, and insecurity. The challenges Nigerians are facing are suffocating them.
“For me, I don’t know what the government aims to achieve with this. I don’t understand the government’s direction or why they are discussing palliative measures.
“On one hand, they are talking about palliative support, on the other, they are taking it away from the lives of Nigerians. It goes beyond what anyone can comprehend.’
“The danger is that if you push Nigerians beyond their limits, nobody can predict what will happen. The suffering, hunger, barbarism, insecurity and violence currently occurring have never happened under any administration in Nigeria’s history.”
But the ruling APC absolved the President of blame, attributing the rising costs of petrol to market forces.
The National Publicity Director of the APC, Bala Ibrahim, stated, “Why is the opposition blaming Tinubu for this? For your information, the President is even out of the country. He is not the one who triggered this thing. This issue is purely economic. It has nothing to do with government intervention at all.
‘’For now, there is bound to be panic buying and fear of the unknown among the masses. Some people even buy it because they want to test the quality of Dangote fuel.
The PUNCH