A leading anti-corruption and trafficking organization, Network Against Corruption and Trafficking, NACAT, has rejected the recent increase in petrol pump price from N617/liter to N897/liter.
The organisation’s Operations Manager, Stanley Ugagbe, in a statement on Wednesday, lamented that the increment, “is an egregious affront to the collective well-being of the Nigerian people, who have already been subjected to untold hardships by a series of failed policies”.
According to Mr Ugagba, Nigerians need to rise in their might, speak out, and reject the continued imposition of “toxic economic hardships”.
He said: “It is with rude shock that we received the recent surreptitious, abrupt and unconscionable hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which has skyrocketed from N617/liter to a staggering N897/liter, as approved by the NNPC Retail Management.
“Evidence at our disposal reveal that this price has been effected across board and independent filling stations across the country have further exacerbated the situation by selling petrol for between N950 and N1,000 per liter, with Abuja being among the hardest-hit areas.”
The organization expressed its dismay in the revelations from the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, which claimed that the hike in fuel prices directly contradicts the understanding reached with the government regarding the N70,000 minimum wage.
“The NLC has made it clear that the decision to accept the N70,000 minimum wage was predicated on the promise that PMS prices would remain stable.
“As Nigerians, we recall the President’s infamous ultimatum, which forced the NLC to choose between two devastating options: a N250,000 minimum wage with fuel prices between N1,500 and N2,000, or a N70,000 minimum wage at the old PMS rates.
“The NLC chose the latter, only to be met with this shocking betrayal barely a month later, and before the government has even begun paying the new minimum wage,” the statement noted.
The organization noted that corruption thrives where poverty prevails, saying that with the increment of fuel price, everything in the country will immediately skyrocket in prices and this will give room to civil servants as well as public office holders to steal more in order to cover up the cost of things.
