The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the fresh increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) and electricity tariff.
The opposition party stated this on Wednesday in a statement by its publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan.
The Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) had on Wednesday adjusted the ex-depot price of PMS twice within a few hours.
The new price of N147.67 was made public shortly after the PPMC announced an initial increment to N151.56 per litre from the erstwhile price of N138.62 per litre.
Earlier before the PMS price hike, the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) across the country on Tuesday began the implementation of a new electricity tariff regime of N66 per kilowatt.
The NLC, which represents the interest of Nigerian workers, has condemned the increase amidst rising economic plight of most Nigerians.
‘Unjustifiable, distressing’
Reacting to the increase in prices of the basic commodities, the PDP said it demands an immediate reversal of the new hikes to avert a national crisis.
It said the increase will result in upsurge in costs of goods and services and worsen the biting hardship being faced by Nigerians.
“Our party asserts that by increasing the price of fuel from the N87 per litre it sold under the PDP to an excruciating N151 while at the same time allowing the hike in electricity tariff from N30.23 per kwh to over N66, the APC has left no one in doubt that its agenda is to inflict pain and hardship on Nigerians to satisfy their selfish interests.”
“The unjustifiable increase in the price of these essential supplies, coming barely a week after the APC brazenly posted a support for fuel price hike, while attempting to rationalize the excruciating hardship being suffered by Nigerians under the Buhari administration, has further confirmed that the APC is at the center of the harsh policies of the Buhari Presidency.”
“It is distressing that the APC administration increased the cost of essential commodities at the time the leadership of other countries are offering palliatives to their citizens to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is instructive to add that our nation is doomed under the APC watch.
“We know that the APC is an unfeeling party but it is indeed shocking that it could go to the extent of approving such a hike at this trying time, when many Nigerians are struggling to afford staple foods and other necessities of life,” the party which lost to the incumbent APC government in 2015 and 2019, said.
The party challenged the APC and the Buhari administration to publish the parameters with which it arrived at the new fuel price.
“Our party further challenges the APC-led Federal Government to publish details of its sleazy and over-bloated 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.
“Moreover, the APC and its government have failed to allow an open investigation into allegations of fuel price overcharge as well as the fraudulent subsidy regime through which over N14 trillion had allegedly been frittered by unscrupulous individuals in the APC.
“Our fear is that the APC is pushing Nigerians to the wall with its obnoxious and anti-people proclivities and we caution that nobody should misinterpret the peaceful and law-abiding nature of Nigerians as a sign of weakness.”
The party further called on the National Assembly “to save the nation by calling the APC and its administration to order before the nation plunges into chaos”.
