The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has rejected the newly announced increase in petrol pump price from N123 to N143.80 per litre, by the President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government, .
The party described the hike, despite the decline in the price of crude oil in the international market, as grossly unjustifiable, saying that, it further exposed the alleged insincerity of the present administration.
The fuel price increase was contained in the July pricing guideline for Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, by the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, sent to Oil Marketers.
The memo entitled: “Advised price for PMS for July”, dated July 1, was signed by the PPPRA Executive Secretary, Mr. Abdulkadir Saidu.
Reacting, the PDP in a statement on Thursday night, by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the pump price of fuel to a price not exceeding N90 per litre, given the prevailing templates in the price of crude oil in the international market.
The party noted that in directing a fuel price increase, at a time Nigerians are facing the economic and social trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Buhari-led administration showed a total lack of human feelings to the plight of citizens.
The PDP said: “Our party challenges the APC-led Federal Government to present to Nigerians, the indices and parameters it used to determine the price increase, which obviously cannot be in tandem with the prevalent situation in the global industry.
“The actions of the APC administration have continued to confirm that the party has never been pro-poor, but only relishes in imposing hardship and heavy taxes on already impoverished Nigerians, while running an over-bloated government, through which resources meant for the welfare of Nigerians are frittered by corrupt Officials, and the cabal in the Presidency.”