The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has accused the President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government of deriving “satisfaction in imposing outrageous and satanic economic policies on Nigerians”,
It therefore, demanded for the return of the price of Liquefied Petroleum Gas, popularly called cooking gas, to how he met it in May 2015, when he assumed Office, after taking over power from former President Goodluck Jonathan.
The National Coordinator of HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, made this known in a chat with The Punch, on Saturday.
Onwubiko stated: “The failure of the relevant governmental bodies to regulate the pricing of gas assets in Nigeria is a recipe for encouraging the ballooning poverty situations that we have witnessed since 2015, that President Muhammadu Buhari has operated economic policy frameworks devoid of progressive mechanisms.
“Government lacks the requisite political will, sincerity of purpose and commitments to do the needful to ensure that millions of homes in Nigeria are not subjected to economic ordeals just so they can get gas to power the preparations of their foods and other essential services domestically and otherwise.
“High costs of gas has led to the closure of many restaurants and small businesses thereby increasing unemployment rates in Nigeria. The high cost of gas has affected the green environment and this shows that this government is hypocritical when it mouths her readiness to take remedial steps to halt the consequences of climate change.
“All those international trips costing the taxpayers billions of naira by the President and retinue of Ministers to attend climate change-related global summits, without taking local steps to check unaffordable costs of gas resources in Nigeria is cosmetic and hypocritical.”
When asked whether it would be better for President Buhari to return the price of cooking gas to what it was in 2015, Onwubiko responded: “Yes, but this government is unrepentantly incompetent.
“The government derives satisfaction in imposing outrageous and satanic economic policies on Nigerians. This is even why the government has decided to tax us more for drinking soft drinks even when wives of politically exposed officials buy champagnes and expensive wines at public costs for their own enjoyment in their cocoons.”