PDP chides FG over fresh hike in petrol pump price

Chinazor Megbolu    |

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has chided the Federal Government over the latest hike in petroleum products pump price.

The major opposition party in the country in a statement signed and issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan described the hike to N170 per litre as wicked and unbearable.

The party stated that the new increase in the pump price of petrol was unacceptable to the citizenry when compared to the prevailing excruciating economic hardship already foisted on the citizens by the present administration.

The party also noted that the fuel hike would worsen the already suffocating economic situation in the country.

“The PDP holds that the APC and its administration have no justification to increase the cost of fuel to anything above N100 per litre talk less of N170, when there are practical options to maintain affordable price given our production capacity and potentialities.

“It is evident that the continuous increase in the pump price of fuel under opaque and nebulous indices is a product of incompetence and large scale corruption being perpetrated by a few individuals in the Buhari administration, who are bent on fleecing Nigerians and holding our nation to ransom.

“Our party notes that the APC administration has failed to come clean on the parameters being used for the hike in prices vis-a-vis our production, export and accruing revenue.

“Indeed, the APC administration is not being honest with Nigerians regarding the status and volume of oil production, sales and accruing revenue.

“This is in addition to its failure to fix our refineries and end crude oil theft, allegedly to aid APC interests.

“This appears to provide answers to why the APC administration has failed to offer any explanation on huge fraud going on in the management of our nation’s oil resources, including the alleged stealing over N9.6 trillion ($25 billion) by APC interests, as detailed in the leaked NNPC memo.

“It has also failed to publish details of its sleazy oil subsidy regime, including the involvement of APC interests in the claimed under-recovery for unnamed West African countries, running into trillions of naira, while Nigerians are made to bear the burden of high fuel costs.

“Such humongous fraud in the management of our oil resources is responsible for the high costs and unspeakable hardship being suffered by millions of Nigerians who can barely afford their meals and basic necessities of life.

“Our party urges President Buhari to end the corruption and the stealing of our oil resource under his watch by APC leaders, recover the looted resources and immediately reverse this increase in the price of fuel.

“President Buhari should also take steps to fulfill his promise to revamp our refineries or accept his failures and apologise to Nigerians.

“It is still not yet late for him to get more competent hands to run our oil sector instead of imposing more hardship on Nigerians,” the statement said.

Recall the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) had on Friday increased the ex-depot price of petrol from N147.67 per litre to N155.17, which forced the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to direct its members to start selling the product from a price range of N168 per litre to N171 per litre.