Melaye, Shehu Sani, Balarabe Musa decry fuel price hike

·        Kogi Senator gives Buhari 7-day ultimatum

·        Asks APC national chairman to advise Buhari accordingly

Senator Dino Melaye has threatened to mobilise Nigerians against the government if it fails to reverse the astronomical increase in fuel price.

Melaye, a senator from Kogi State who participated actively in the #OcuppyNigeria protests, which forced the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan to shelve the idea of removing fuel subsidy, accused the current administration of going against the campaign promises of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He reportedly asked John Oyegun, national chairman of the party, to advise Buhari to revoke the increment. “My sincere advice is for the National Chairman of our party to suggest that the federal government immediately reverse the announced increase in the pump price of PMS,,” he wrote on Facebook.

“If after seven days from Monday, there is no reversal, I will mobilise Nigerians from all walks of life for the mother of all protest. This is not what we promised Nigerians. The time is not right and the negative effects will be unbearable. A word is enough for the wise.”

Melaye is not the first APC senator to oppose the new price regime in the oil sector. Senator Shehu Sani, representing Kaduna central senatorial district, has also expressed reservation over the hike in fuel price. Sani, an activist, who also took part in the anti-subsidy protest in 2012, said: “My position remains unchanged, crystal clear and unwavering; I stand opposed to the removal of petroleum subsidy and I stand opposed to increase in pump price of petroleum products. It will do nothing other than add to the suffering and further impoverish the masses of our people. It amounts to capitulation and outright deception for those of us who led millions of people, out in the street, few years ago, against pump price increase and against subsidy removal to now give economic excuses to justify same. The moral flag we raised in the past is now the scale of justice to measure the degree of our conscience in the present.”

 In the same vein, Alhaji Balarabe Musa in reacting to the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government noted that the move spells doom for the country. The subsidy was removed on Wednesday, May 11 following a meeting between the minister of state for petroleum and stakeholders of the petroleum industry. Mr Ibe Kachiku said the decision to remove subsidy and deregulate the sector was born out of necessity. He said the removal would open the market and solve the problem of scarcity. He said the removal will positively affect the economy as it will allow government focus on other sectors like power generation and security.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Musa who is also a national leader of the Peoples Redemption Party said on Thursday, May 12 in Kaduna that the action of the government would bring more pain to Nigerians. “We are in trouble; the already bad situation will get worse and it will worsen the poverty level of Nigerians,” he said. Musa assured that he would support the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in its plan to stage a mass protest to compel the federal government to reverse the decision. The politician alleged that the fund garnered from the subsidy removal would also benefit a few persons at the top.

 Meanwhile, Jide Jimoh, the lawmaker representing Mainland constituency in the House of Representatives, has noted that the increment in pump price was aimed at the greater good of Nigerians. “The increment in fuel price is not to put Nigerians into any form of hardship but to bring change that will bring lasting enjoyment afterward,” he said. “I believe Nigerians will smile and there shall be light at the end of the tunnel but Nigerians must understand that President Buhari meant good for the country,” Jimoh said. Calling on all Nigerians to be patient, the lawmaker said: “What is of necessity now is for all of us to rationalise and be creative and at the end of the day allow wisdom to prevail in this circumstance. “I know Buhari has promised us very good things but the rate at which Nigerians are now getting involved like queuing up endlessly without having the petroleum product is not good for us.” Jimoh called on the federal government to embark on massive provision of buses and rejuvenation of rail lines to cushion the effect.