Recent Hike In Pump Price Of Petrol, Insensitive, Unfortunate – Peter Obi Says
- Calls on Tinubu to reverse the increase
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), in the 2023 Presidential election, Mr Peter Obi, has described the recent hike in the pump price of petrol by the Federal Government as insensitive and most unfortunate.
Mr Obi said for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to casually inflict such a draconian measure on the populace from the comfort of an annual vacation, amounted to taking the people’s welfare lightly and for granted.
He said this is neither how an economy’s resources should be managed nor how a nation should be governed, stressing that in this new measure, there was neither sound economics nor necessary compassion.
Obi, who stated these in a post on X handle on Saturday, October 12, 2024, therefore tasked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum to as a matter of necessity, provide full explanation, offer alternative options, and most importantly, reverse the sudden price increase.
The former governor of Anambra State said that as Nigerians continue to groan under extremely difficult economic conditions, which he noted was largely caused by the Federal Government’s wrong policy choices, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), once again raised the price of fuel (PMS) without providing any explanation.
In the words of Obi; “This is both unfortunate and insensitive, considering the wide-ranging negative consequences for our economic survival and well-being.
“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,” he said.
Obi pointedly said that a “New and more compassionate Nigeria is indeed Possible”.
The NNPC Ltd on Thursday, announced a 14.8% hike in the price of petrol by increasing the pump price per litre from N897 to ₦1,030 being the second petrol price increase within one month.
The Company also increase the price of petrol from N615 to 897 per litre in September 2024.
