As the global fuel price hike hits harder in Nigeria due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, has advised the Nigerian Government to introduce a temporary time-bound cap on the product to prevent further increases, worsening the cost-of-living crisis.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the party also called for the introduction of targeted palliatives for low-income Nigerians.
The opposition party explained that when petrol price rises, everything else rises with it; therefore, the APC-led federal government should try to be responsible by taking responsibility for protecting citizens from the harshest consequences of the ongoing fuel price hikes.
The ADC believes that external shocks cannot justify allowing fuel prices to spiral without restraint in an already fragile economy that continues to reel from the consequences of the Tinubu-led APC government’s abrupt removal of the fuel subsidy.
The opposition party questions the government over limited availability of Compressed Natural Gas, CNG refuelling stations across the country, despite recent announcement of plan to distribute 100,000 CNG conversion kits, which cannot cover over 11 million vehicles on Nigerian roads.
The ADC therefore urges the Federal Government not to relent in pursuing a more credible and comprehensive energy strategy that protects Nigerians from extreme fuel price shocks.
It is agreed that Nigeria is an oil-producing country, and it should not be a place where the cost of petrol repeatedly pushes millions of citizens deeper into hardship at a time of rising global uncertainty. It says protecting the welfare of citizens must remain the first duty of any government that knows what they are doing.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
