ACN Accuses FG Of Raising Fuel Price By Subterfuge

THE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has accused the PDP-led Federal Government of raising the price of petrol through the back door by creating an artificial scarcity that is now forcing Nigerians to pay more than the official price.

In a statement issued in Lagos on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said after the government’s anti-people policy of raising the price of petrol was rejected earlier this year, it has now resorted to underhand tactics to increase the price.

It said since the orchestrated scarcity started several months ago, Nigerians have been paying anything from

N110 per litre in Lagos to as high as N130-140 per litre elsewhere in the country at many filling stations,

and far higher than those prices at the black market.

“For example, in the capital city of Abuja, 10 litres of fuel goes for N2, 500 at the black market, representing N250 per litre. For motorists who are unable to withstand the painfully-long queues in the few filling stations selling the product, this is the only way to keep their vehicles running.

“By failing to clamp down on the filling stations selling at prices higher than the official rate, and by not ensuring the availability of the product nationwide, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has simply rammed a price increase down the throats of Nigerians.

“This governance by deceit, a hallmark of the PDP-led Federal Government, is sure to make life more difficult for Nigerians, most of whom provide their own electricity through generators that are powered by petrol. The high fuel cost is also having a bandwagon effect on the cost of goods and services,” ACN said.

The party challenged the Federal Government to tell Nigerians why it has been unable to make petrol widely available to its citizens, who are already reeling under the effects of poor governance manifesting in massive unemployment and poor electricity supply, among others.

“The Jonathan Administration has shown itself to be an expert in setting up committees after committees for one

reason or the other in the oil sector. These committees have yet to make any appreciable impact in cleaning up the sector and ending in the current situation where ordinary citizens are being made to pay for the massive corruption and incredible inefficiency in the sector.

“Of course, Nigerians know that because the government itself as well as the ruling PDP are at the centre of the corruption and inefficiency in the sector, every action so far taken by the government amounts to window dressing, until otherwise proven,” it said