Peter Obi Criticises Tinubu, NNPCL for Fuel Price Hike Amid Nigeria’s Economic Struggles

Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party Presidential candidate, has attributed Nigeria’s “extremely difficult” economic conditions to the “wrong policy choices” by President Bola Tinubu and the fully-owned government company, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Obi disclosed this in a post on his official X handle on Saturday, October 12, describing the aftermath of such a policy to increase the price of fuel as both “unfortunate” and “insensitive” considering the “wide-ranging negative consequences for our economic survival and well-being.”

According to the 2023 Presidential Candidate, “This is neither how an economy’s resources should be managed nor how a nation should be governed. In this new measure, there is neither sound economics nor necessary compassion.

“We are told that the NNPCL is now a limited liability company, regulated by agencies such as the NUPRC and NMDPRA, yet there seems to be growing confusion about the roles and responsibilities of the NNPCL and these regulating bodies.

“Interestingly, both the NNPCL and the regulatory agencies are supposed to be under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria serving as the substantive Minister. Who, in this arrangement, is regulating who?” Obi questioned.

With the unprecedented but avoidable hardship that Nigerians are enduring, the responsibility for providing a full explanation, offering alternative options, and, most importantly, reversing the sudden price hike falls squarely on the Honorable Minister of Petroleum Resources/President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Obi stated.

In addition to his criticism, Obi added, “To casually inflict such a draconian measure on the populace from the comfort of an annual vacation amounts to taking the people’s welfare lightly and for granted.”

While the price of fuel varies across the 36 states of Nigeria, it stood at N998/per litre in Lagos and N1,000 in Abuja as of Wednesday, October 9, 2024.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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