The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has
challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly bring an end to the fuel
crisis rocking many parts of the country.
The crisis has lingered for many weeks despite
assurances from the government that it would soon be resolved.
Earlier, President Buhari, who is the
substantive minister of petroleum resources, had given marching orders to the
minister of state for petroleum resources, Ibe Kachikwu, to end the scarcity,
but motorists are yet to get any relief from the biting scarcity even as
Yuletide approaches.
The opposition party in a statement on Friday
signed by its national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan, said Nigerians
are languishing under the president’s rule because the scarcity has led to
increase in transport fare, household costs, prices of food, medicines and
other basic needs of the people.
In the statement, the party said, ”it is not
enough for the President to sit in his comfort zone and put the blame of the
fuel scarcity at the doorsteps of marketers.”
“The unbearable fuel situation in the country
is completely unacceptable. Mr. President must become up and doing. He should
not allow anybody to push him to claim that the issue of fuel scarcity is not
under the purview of the Minister of Petroleum Resources. When he took office
as President of Nigeria and also as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, he was
aware that the buck stops at his table.
“Nigerians must not be made to suffer
especially at this time of the year when we have the Yuletide and New Year
festivities, which come with a lot of activities.
“This is the same APC government that promised
that it will make fuel available and affordable. Today, under their deceitful
and corrupt watch, fuel has not only become extremely scarce, the price has
also risen from where the PDP left it at N86.50k per liter to as high as N300
per liter and above.”
The party said the time for the president to
act was now rather than buck trading adding that the president had failed
Nigerians.
“But should Nigerians be subjected to this type
of anguish and pain after supporting APC to win election in 2015? Does APC
indeed deserve another support in 2019?”
“Whereas we know that the time is already up
for the APC, we nevertheless urge Mr. President to, within the remaining short
time, rise up to his responsibilities as the minister of petroleum or
immediately relinquish that position and allow a competent person to run the ministry.
Enough is enough”, the party said.
The statement urged Nigerians not to despair
but rekindle their hope in the future as the PDP is now repositioned to regain
power in 2019 and return the nation to the path of good governance, social
stability and economic growth, ”for which it is generally known.”
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