The President, Yoruba Council Worldwide (YCW), Aare Oladotun Hassan, has called on President Bola Tinubu to issue an Executive Order to reduce fuel price to make life comfortable for Nigerians as well as fix all the four refineries in the country and make them operate maximally.
Hassan stated this during a world press conference organised by the National Youth Stakeholders Forum of Nigeria (NYSFN) tagged “State of the Nation: Planned Nationwide Protest and Dialogue” which was held over the weekend in Abuja.
Hassan, who stated that the planned protest is a litmus for riot, however urged the President to convene an immediate dialogue to address the challenges the country is currently passing through. He also appealed to President Tinubu to allow Dangote Refinery to operate to promote local content in Nigeria.
“These are not time for war. The impending protest that has been tagged “End Bad Governance” is a litmus for riot and it is clearly stated that we are for dialogue just as the President (Tinubu) has proposed dialogue but the dialogue must be immediate and the mechanism for that dialogue is what we want to see.
“If that dialogue must be in the 774 local government areas, thank God Mr President has ordered the implementation of the local government autonomy, then let’s all of us go back and fine-tune our resolutions. We have immediate problems in our various regions and our states. And these issues must be totally aggregated while we are demanding in the immediate terms, in order to end this anguish.
“If Mr President can in his capacity, issue an Executive Order, to reduce the fuel price to N100 per litre or to the barest minimum that will definitely aggregate our opinion and as well ensure the full capacity of all the four refineries and also ensure that the Dangote Refinery is given that right of way to operate. Because we’re already agitated and any saboteurs on our way, we are ready to crush.
“These are the Nigerian youths and this is the apex of all aggregate political, ethnic and various CSOs as far as the country is concerned. Any other person outside here clamouring for protest is enemy of this nation. We sat no to protest and we pray that Mr President should ensure good governance,” Hassan told Tribune Online.
Also in her remarks, the President, Women of Impact International, Honourable Abimbola Nicholas, called on Tinubu to tackle the cabals in the oil sector who have held the country by the jugular for so long and make Nigerians suffer untold hardship in the midst of plenty. She said the youths are ready to take their destiny into their hands by confronting the cabals headlong and free Nigeria from their shackles.
“In plain terms, our stand over this coming protest we’ve made it clear that our protest is not against the government. Our protest is: why is it that we have four refineries that are not functional? Why is my father having mango or orange plantation and outsider will come and gather it, go and turn it to orange juice, come back and sell it to me at higher price?
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“Why are we suffering as Nigerians? Who are these so-called cabals that they say have held Nigeria to ransom? We thought it was a lie until a man in the private sector decided to take the bull by the horns and said ‘let me build a private refinery’. And even now, he’s being opposed. Who are these faceless masquerades that have held Nigeria to ransom right from Independence till now?
“As youths, we are standing up to take our future, we do not want to be lied to again. We understand that Mr President actually has compassion for the nation, he’s trying his best. But who are these people who have decided that they are power brokers and Nigeria’s commonwealth is their personal company? We don’t care whether they are inside or outside the country.
“As youths, we’ve decided to take our future into our hands. We are giving government the ultimatum to give us their names (of the cabals). It’s not going to be business as usual. We are telling every youth there to reposition their protest.
“This protest is not against the government because we’ve been hungry for a very long time. Government should tell Nigerians who these people are and those are the people we want to confront so that we can end hunger permanently in Nigeria. We want a permanent end, we don’t want palliatives anymore,” Nicholas said.
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