Former Governor of Anambra State and Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, on Saturday, rose in stout condemnation of the new price hike in the pump price of premium motor spirit, PMS, otherwise known as petrol, describing it as “unfortunate and insensitive.”
After announcing that it had stopped being the uptaker in petroleum products from Dangote Refinery, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), early in the week jerked petrol price, from ₦897 to ₦1,030 per litre.
The latest price hike is the second within one month, having previously increased it from ₦615 to ₦897 in September.
Obi, a staunch advocate of production to consumption, released the statement on his X handle, Saturday morning, imploring President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who also serves as Minister of Petroleum, to provide a full explanation, offer alternative options, and reverse the price hike.
“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,” Obi declared.
Here is the statement in full: “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 (PMS) 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!”
