CORE threatens nationwide protest over fuel price increase
A group, the Coalition for Revolution has called on the Nigerian public to reject the increase in fuel pump price from N143.80 to N163.00.
The group said the ill-timed increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) echoes as an insensitive move by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, stating that it was unacceptable.
The group aired its stance in a statement signed by the Co-coveners of CORE, Baba Aye and Gbenga Komolafe. It threatened to whip up public resistance if the increase in fuel price was not addressed by the federal government.
They lauded the audacity of the National Association of Nigerian Students (Zone D), who called for a mass protest on September 8 to demand the immediate reversal of the fuel price and electricity tariff.
Recall that on August 5, the Coalition for Revolution had staged a peaceful demonstration across major cities in Nigeria.
From Lagos to Abuja, peaceful protesters took to the streets, calling on the public to stand up to bad governance, poor infrastructure, and the government’s inordinate use of extra-judicial powers.
The movement, tagged RevolutionNow, did not however go as scripted as the federal government ordered an inter-agency crack-down against the peaceful protesters.
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In a statement on Thursday, September 3, CORE expressed its dismay with the recent increase in the pump price of PMS and threatened another public demonstration if the decision is not reversed.
“CORE is mobilising for a nationwide protest on 1 October. After 60 years of independence, our demands cannot be piecemeal. We stand for holistic, root and branch change to do away with the exploitative system. They cannot be allowed to continue feeding fat at our expense. Government must be defunded.
“This requires rejection of all the anti-poor policies they throw at us, with demonstrable action beyond mere words. This is very important but is not enough. If we keep fighting each battle as single episodes of exploitation, the regime will keep coming up with several anti-poor policies for each one we force them to reverse, taking back what they are made to give with the left hand, with the right.
“We must also reveal the systemic connections between all these economic attacks and unite the struggle into a revolutionary wave aimed at tackling our exploitation and oppression at the root.”
