How Buhari, APC duped Nigerians on fuel subsidy removal 

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has accused the federal government of not being insincere with the issue of fuel subsidy removal, accusing the All Progressives Congress lying to Nigerians.

Falana who made this allegation at the weekend in Abuja during a two-day conference of the People’s Alternative Political Parties Summit titled, “A New Nigeria Is Possible,” also alerted Nigerians on alleged plans by the government to increase the price of fuel to N500 per litre before the end of the year.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria highlighted the President’s past comparison of the prices of fuel in Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

He said the government can no longer be trusted after the announcement of full deregulation of fuel in 2020 which led to the sale of fuel at N168 per litre.

Falana said, “Last September, this same government announced that following the full deregulation, fuel was going to be sold at N168 per litre. Today, we are being told that there will be full deregulation again which will raise the price to N230 per litre.

“(But) Let me predict here that if care is not taken, the government intends to sell fuel at N500 per litre before the end of this year.”

The FG has destroyed the economy and devalued the Naira through the dollar-based economic system being run by Buhari’s administration, Falana opined.

According to him, the summit is aimed at challenging the worsening security situation, devaluation of national currencies, mass unemployment, and increasing lack of good governance.

He added that a new Nigeria has to be founded on the platform of social justice and there was the need to collaborate with like-minded progressive forces and reposition Nigerians to take back power.

He said, “We want to take Nigeria back from the soiled hands of political buccaneers and that is the essence of the meeting.

“That is why we believe that a new Nigeria is possible that will be run and managed by the Nigerian people and not by alien forces of destruction.”

The federal government last week admitted paying as much as N120 billion to subsidise the price of petrol monthly.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, said this at the fifth edition of the special ministerial briefings coordinated by the presidential communications team.

Kyari said while the actual cost of importation and handling charges amounts to N234 per litre, the government is selling at N162 per liter.

He said sooner or later Nigerians would have to pay the actual cost for the commodity.