The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government has been told to forget the urge to hike prices of petroleum products by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
PDP warned that hiking the price of petrol from the already exorbitant N145 per litre “will not only be criminal but inhuman and completely unacceptable.”
The party in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, alleged that the federal government had been lying to Nigerians on oil-related issues “while using the NNPC to bandy figures with intentions to arrive at APC’s predetermined agenda to increase the price of fuel.”
It further stated that the lingering fuel crisis and its attendant black-market price were only a ploy by the APC to justify their intended hike of petroleum prices.
“The APC Government has completely become numbed to the sufferings of Nigerians to the extent that it no longer cares in imposing more hardship on our people. Instead of putting more burdens on the people, the APC Government should come out clear on the sleazes in the oil sector under its watch, particularly the shady oil subsidy payouts and illegal lifting of N1.1 trillion worth of crude using unregistered companies.
“Any increase in fuel pump price would be an indirect tax on Nigerians to fund APC interests and considering the pains Nigerians have suffered under this inept and unfeeling Government, this intended hike will be callous,” it said.
The party recalled that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo had in December informed Nigerians that the NNPC had been paying subsidy on fuel.
The PDP said the federal government had refused to tell Nigerians who the beneficiaries were, the amount involved and who authorised the payment, because of the inherent corruption in the deal.
“It is now clear to all that this APC- controlled government will never act in the interest of Nigerians. All the actions and policies of APC, in their close to three years in office, have been targeted against Nigerians and there are no signals that they will change.
“We therefore urge Nigerians to reject this plot to raise the prices of petroleum products even as they gear towards using the next election to end the misrule of the APC,” the PDP said.
Packaged by Alice Egbedele
