The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday, March 29th, 2020 charged the President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately reduce the petrol pump, otherwise known as premium motor spirit from N125 per litre to a maximum of N90 per litre.

The Federal Government through the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Silva, had announced the reduction of the pump price hitherto sold between N143 and N145 to N125 per litre.

But the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement said the arrangement fell short of expectations.

He said given the fall in the price of crude oil in the international market to below $30 per barrel, the appropriate domestic price for petrol should be between N80 and N90 per litre.

He explained that such a cost template should be immediately implemented to ease the economic burden on Nigerians and further serve as palliative for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ologbondiyan said,

Our party maintains that any further delay in the reduction of fuel price amounts to fleecing of Nigerians at a time government should rather concentrate on efforts that will immediately ease the burden and enable our citizens to battle health and economic concerns worsened by the coronavirus disease.

The party therefore urged agencies of government, particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria, to be wary of attempts by some All Progressives Congress leaders to hijack fiscal procedures and push hazy financial theories that will end up diverting public resources into their hands, away from the poor Nigerians in the informal sector who are in dire need of social remedies due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ologbondiyan urged the CBN to be circumspect over what he called the attempt by National Leader of the APC, Asuwaju Bola Tinubu, to allegedly hide under social palliatives for the COVID-19 impact, which he said had already been advocated by the PDP and other well-meaning Nigerians, to allegedly covertly sell a parochial pecuniary agenda of APC leaders and the cabal.

Tinubu had called for the immediate suspension of Value Added Tax, and the reduction of tax in the country as part of measures the Federal Government could adopt to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Nigerians.

Tinubu in his 68th birthday anniversary message said the government might have to take tougher measures to curb the spread of the disease such as imposing a nationwide lockdown as done by most countries battling the scourge.

Source: Punch

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.