Fuel price hike taking devastating toll on Nigerians, PDP chieftain Onuesoke, Uti tell Tinubu

Former governorship aspirant and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Sunny Onuesoke, and the immediate past chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Warri branch, Chief Emmanuel Uti, Tuesday, said the further hike in the pump price of petrol is taking its devastating toll on Nigerians.

The duo, who flayed the APC-led Federal Government for putting the cart before the horse in the removal of fuel subsidy, described the hardships accompanying the hike as terrible and unbearable.

Speaking with Tribune Online on Wednesday in Warri, Delta State, the duo faulted the methods applied by President Bola Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in implementing the subsidy removal.

They averred that some cushioning measures should have been put in place before implementing the subsidy removal if the government was truly sincere and sensitive to the plight of its citizens.

“The hardship accompanying the recent fuel hike is terrible. Things are hard for Nigerians. Until our refineries start working, we are in for a difficult time.

“The government needs to act fast to ensure that those granted licences of modular refineries start off immediately,” Uti admonished.

Besides, Onuesoke, who’s an entrepreneur in the oil and gas sector, said the APC-led government should have put concrete measures in place before removing the fuel subsidy, describing the government as lacking in strategic thinking and planning.

“This is a result of a lack of strategic thinking on the part of the APC-led presidency. The truth is the right time when we were in an advantageous position due to our robust economic pointers in 2012 to implement a subsidy removal policy.

“Two things are wrong with this subsidy removal that’s why we are here today. Firstly insensitivity of the APC government to make a policy statement without a policy framework to cushion the effects of such policy.

“A serious government would have rolled out robust measures like an immediate upward review of our minimum wage, investment in intra and inter-state transport with alternative sources of energy like gas and electricity for power, revamping of our four refineries or outright privatization to encourage competition and also granting of a licence for modular refineries including investment in alternative sources of energy to bring about competition in the downstream sector.

“Secondly, insincerity on the part of the APC presidency by lying to Nigerians that the price of PMS would come down due to the interplay between the force of demand and supply,” he averred.

Onuesoke further noted that “as long as the NNPCL is still fully in control of the regulation of the downstream Sector, there is nothing that can be done, rather what we are seeing today is a manipulation process of the cartel being encouraged by the cabal in the presidency.

“A fully deregulated sector means so much more than prices. It means competition, it means innovation and heavy investment in infrastructures..it requires a strategic policy implementation which I think the Tinubu presidency is currently lacking, thereby throwing Nigerians into a perpetual state of hardship, pain and suffering.”

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