The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has promised that Nigerian would not spend the next Christmas queueing for petrol, if he is elected in the 25th February 2023 election.
Amid scarcity, fuel stations in major cities across the country are offering the product at about N240 per litre as against the official rate of N165.
In a Christmas message signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, the former Vice President noted that the All Progressives Congress (APC administration has “set a new record of the longest petrol scarcity in the history of Nigeria”.
He said that voting for the APC in February would be a reinforcement of failure and could push Nigeria further into an existential crisis.
Atiku, who said the APC is seeking a third term through its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urged Nigerians to reject the ruling party, saying, “to Nigerians, we say the ability to change your destiny lies in your hands”.
He noted that the current fuel scarcity started in January with occasional reliefs and a series of excuses ranging from the importation of dirty fuel from Belgium to flooding in some parts of the country, among others.
The statement further reads: “Recall that the petrol scarcity started in January 2022 on account of the importation of dirty petrol high in methanol. The Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari explained at the time that the petrol was brought in from Belgium.
“The House of Representatives, led by Femi Gbajabiamila, opened a probe into the matter but nothing has been heard about the investigation till date. This is not surprising since it is an APC affair.
“Based on estimates from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the media reported that NNPC may have spent about N201 billion worth of clean petrol to clean the 170.25 million litres of dirty petrol. Still, no one was sacked for bringing the country to its knees.
“With the fuel scarcity now continuing till December, the government has run out of excuses even as most Nigerians are now at the mercy of black marketers who sell petrol as high as N500 per litre. The NNPC, which is the sole importer of petrol, has failed to live up to its duties, clear evidence that its privatisation is merely cosmetic.
“But the biggest culprit in this mess is President Muhammadu Buhari, who is the Minister of Petroleum. It is saddening that he has failed to bring succour to Nigerians who are suffering from the worsening inflation, unemployment and insecurity.
“It is disheartening that a country that claims to spend $40 million daily on petrol subsidy cannot still make the product available to its people. This is clear evidence that the money is going into private pockets ahead of elections at the expense of Nigerians.
“The APC, which is running for a third term through the person of Bola Tinubu, is now promising renewed hope after dashing the hopes of millions of Nigerians for the last eight years.
“It is exasperating that Tinubu is promising to remove fuel subsidy when his party has retained it for the last seven years and spent billions of dollars subsidising criminality. It is obvious that Tinubu’s statement is an indictment on Buhari.
“Nigerians have suffered too much in these last seven years. A country which has been unable to meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) quota at a time of oil boom is now witnessing an unprecedented petrol scarcity that has brought economic activities to their knees across the country”.
