Fuel hike: Tinubu making things difficult for Nigerians- Peter Obi

Following the hike in the price of petroleum, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Mr Peter Obi says President Bola Tinubu is making things difficult for Nigerians.

THE PLAINTRUTH had reported that the recent hike in the petrol would be the fourth time that the product had been increased since the inception of President Tinubu on May 2023.

Prior to Tinubu’s administration, the litre of petrol was sold for N198 until after his inaugural speech at Eagle Square, Abuja, where he exclaimed that subsidy was gone.

The stations of the national oil company raised the retail price of petrol to N1,030 from N897 per litre across multiple NNPCL stations in Nigeria.

The state oil company has not provided any explanation for the sudden increase of approximately 15% to 20% observed nationwide.

Obi, in his statement titled “Reversing the Sudden Fuel Price Increase”, on his X.com account, on Saturday, accused Tinubu’s presidency for not being transparent with Nigerians.

The statement reads, “As Nigerians continue to groan under extremely difficult economic conditions, largely caused by the Federal Government’s wrong policy choices, the NNPCL has once again raised the price of fuel without providing any explanation. This is both unfortunate and insensitive, considering the wide-ranging negative consequences for our economic survival and well-being.

“This is neither how an economy’s resources should be managed nor how a nation should be governed. In this new measure, there is neither sound economics nor necessary compassion. We are told that the NNPCL is now a limited liability company, regulated by agencies such as the NUPRC and NMDPRA, yet there seems to be growing confusion about the roles and responsibilities of the NNPCL and these regulating bodies.

“Interestingly, both the NNPCL and the regulatory agencies are supposed to be under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria serving as the substantive Minister. Who, in this arrangement, is regulating who? With the unprecedented but avoidable hardship that Nigerians are enduring, the responsibility for providing a full explanation, offering alternative options, and most importantly, reversing the sudden price hike falls squarely on the Honorable Minister of Petroleum Resources/President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We hope and pray that he acts in the best interest of the majority of Nigerians, who are living under unnecessarily precarious conditions, and that he does so before his return from his working vacation. To casually inflict such a draconian measure on the populace from the comfort of an annual vacation amounts to taking the people’s welfare lightly and for granted. A new and more compassionate Nigeria is indeed Possible.”