Fuel Hike: We”ll organise one million march to stop NGF – Niger Delta Group

By Kingsley Chukwuka

The proposed petrol pump price hike from N162 to N385 per litre by the Nigeria Governors Forum’s (NGF), has generated reaction from a Niger Delta Group, the Ogoni Libration Initiative (OLI), warning that if implemented will meet a resistance of over one million people on the streets of Nigeria.

“We will organise over one million people to stop the Federal Government if the new proposed N385 fuel price is implemented”.

President of the Group, Mr. Douglas Fabeke said the decision from the NGF demonstrates that they are insensitive to the sufferings of the masses.

Fabeke who spoke in Abuja yesterday also alleged that the refusal of the General Managing Director (GMD), NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari, to unilaterally approve the N385 per litre has met with threat from the powers that be, influencing President Mohammadu Buhari to sack him from office.

“There is an underground plan to influence Mr. President to remove the GMD NNPC, Mele Kyari, for refusing to unilaterally approve the N385 per litre and also his commitment to address all the bad things that happened in the system and make a sustainable change in the oil and gas industry”, Fabeke said.

It would be recalled that the NGF held a virtual meeting and recommended the report of a six-man committee headed by Gov. Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State that the pump price of petrol should be increased from N162 to N385 per litre.

Also recall that the referenced report and recommendations were presented to the National Economic Council headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at its meeting on May 20.

However, Fabeke said the Ogoni Liberation Initiative described this desperate attempt by the NGF as callous, inhumane and a betrayal of public trust reposed on the governors by the electorate.

“It is also unfortunate that the Nigerian governors are making this call at this moment when Nigerians are yet to recover from the ravaging effects of COVID-19.

“This will bring the unbearable hardship to all Nigerians and further push the nation to a total break, and collapse of the system: It’s sad that last year, economic activities all over the country were shut down and many businesses closed down as a result of the lockdown order by Federal and state Governments to curb the wide spread of COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a lot of losses.

“The COVID-19 pandemic also brought about disengagement of workers by corporate organisations and businesses, and many are yet to recover from the losses, while some of the disengaged workers are yet to find employment replacement to earn a living”, he said.

Fabeke called on the Federal Government, National Economic Council (NEC) and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to disregard the anti-people proposal by the NGF as acceptance would further heat up the country