Fuel price increment: Kachikwu asked to resign
– The Transition Monitoring Group called on Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for petroleum resources, to resign over fuel price hike
– According to the TMG, Nigerians feel particularly let down by Kachikwu who has made lots of “chameleonic pronouncements” on the fuel situation in the country
– Rejecting the N145 pump price of petrol, the group announced that it would join forces with Labour and other activists to resist the hike
Karamin Minsitan Mai, Ibe Kachikwu
Following the increment in fuel price, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has called on Ibe Kachikwu, the minister of state for petroleum resources and the chief executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), to resign from his position.
The Nation reports that the call was contained in a statement issued on Thursday, May 12, and signed by Ibrahim Zikirullahi, the TMG chairman.
The group stated categorically that it rejected the N145 pump price of petrol, adding that this imposition portrays the federal government as “insensitive and out of touch with the daily unbearable plight of the ordinary Nigerian”.
“Coming at a time when the implementation of the recently signed 2016 Budget, is yet to take off, the hike in the face of groaning and pains, is ill-timed and badly advised.
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“It is tantamount to killing a willing horse to ask the Nigerian people, who are already carrying the heavy burden of the failure of governance over the years, to take on one more load of extreme economic hardship, as represented by the imposed price of petrol,” the group stated.
Speaking in defence of ordinary people, the TMG announced that it would join forces with Labour and other activists to resist the hike.
“With the many economic woes afflicting the country, including job losses, massive unemployment and galloping-inflation, the least we expected the government to do was to give Nigerians a breather, and allow some form of recovery to take place through a stimulus package injected into the economy to rev it back to life before placing any further burdens.
“To our utmost disappointment however, ordinary Nigerians have been hung out to dry, and left at the mercy of shylock fuel importers. These importers who can mobilize funds to import petrol, but cannot invest in refineries, are the ones being given a free rein to exert profit from the blood and sweat of ordinary citizens,” the TMG said.
According to the group, Nigerians feel particularly let down by Kachikwu who has made lots of “chameleonic pronouncements” on the fuel situation in the country.
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“One minute he is declaring that refineries have started production, the next minute, he is telling the nation all manner of cock and bull stories about strategic reserves, and the effect of the activities of economic saboteurs. We wonder why ordinary Nigerians would be made to bear the brunt of the crimes of economic saboteurs, whom government with all its might is not ready to deal with.
“This endless prevarication has kept Nigerians in the dark about the real issues in the oil and gas sector. Kachikwu’s trumpeted move to unbundle the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation was touted by him as panacea to the issues in the oil and gas sector. As it stands it has all become motion, at the expense of real impact. As if to add insult to injury, Kachikwu’s announcement of the hike failed to provide any road map towards ending importation of petrol, which is the root cause of the current crisis,” the group stated.
TMG concluded that the minister must immediately throw in the towel, as he has serially demonstrated a lack of understanding of the issues in the oil and gas sector.
The group urged all Nigerians to reject the insensitive hike in the price of petrol, and prepare for mass action to send a clear message that this imposition cannot stand.
Meanwhile, Ibe Kachikwu has called on Nigerians to be patient as the increased fuel prices will soon reduce.
The minister, who said this during an interview with Channels television, assured people that they would be amazed at how the prices of petrol will drop in six months.
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