Peter Obi faults fuel price hike by Tinubu’s govt, says it’s insensitive

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, has strongly criticized the recent fuel price hike, calling it “unfortunate and insensitive”.

PlatinumPost reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) raised the retail price of petrol to N1,030 from N897 per litre, a 14.8% increase, causing transportation costs to skyrocket in the Federal Capital Territory. .

But Obi Obi in a statement he titled “Reversing the Sudden Fuel Price Increase”, on his X.com account, on Saturday, emphasized that this increase will have far-reaching negative consequences for Nigeria’s economic survival and its citizens’ well-being.

He urged the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, and President Bola Tinubu to take responsibility by reversing the price hike, citing the need for explanation, alternative options, and compassion.

His words : “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.”