The 2023 presidential candidate for the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has called for the reversal of the sudden increase in fuel pump prices.
The former governor in a post made on his personal X account said Nigerians have continued to deal with the challenges presented by the economic crisis following the wrong policy implemented by the present administration.
Highlighting that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has increased fuel prices without proper enlightenment or explanation to the people, the former governor described the situation as insensitive.
Also noting that no government survives with the level of poor management of a nation’s resources like the NNPCL is doing, Mr Obi said there seems to be confusion about the roles and responsibilities of the company.
His words, “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?” He queried.
The former governor also stated that 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 on the Minister of Petroleum Resources in the person of President Bola Tinubu.
He said, “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,” he added.
