…Warn FG not to cause another protest
By Kelechi Esogwa-Amadi
News of the latest increase of the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol, has sparked outrage, tension and fear among residents of Port Harcourt.
On hearing about the increment of fuel price this morning, TPCN went round the city to interview the residents on how they feel about it and as expected, many expressed anger while some expressed fear over the trickle-down effects it will have on the common masses.
Mrs Grace Johnson, a pastor and private school proprietor in Port Harcourt, said the increased fuel price would subject Nigerians to more hardship and pain.
She said: “We have already suffered so much in this country, especially since 2015 that the present government took over. Everything is expensive and prices of food items keep rising almost every day. If they increase this fuel price again, it will make the prices of other things to go up. How will the ordinary masses survive?
“There are people who can’t afford one full square meal a day, are they not thinking of such people or do they want the poor people to die so that only rich people and politicians will remain in this country? May be that’s what they want but God is bigger than them; he won’t allow that to happen.”
Mrs Grace Johnson pleaded with the federal government to cancel the increase of petrol price for the interest of the common masses, warning that God is not happy with Nigerian political leaders because of the way they are treating their poor citizenry.
“Our political leaders should know that God feels for the poor. If you read the bible in Matthew chapter 25, you will see that Our Lord Jesus Christ said anything we do to the least of his brethren, it is to him we’re doing it. The least of his brethren there refers to the poor, the lowest people in the society. And he said that people who maltreated or refused to take care of the poor will be sent to hell fire. It is there; our leaders should go and read that passage of the bible very well so that they know what is awaiting them if they don’t stop punishing the poor masses of this country. I’m saying all these because this fuel increase is another punishment for the poor in this country because it will affect them the most,” she declared.
A bus driver, who simply identified himself as Paddy Boy, accused the federal country.
He said: “My brother, this kin thing don tire person. How them go increase fuel price again? The one wey them increase to N147 a litre, we still dey suffer am, now they wan increase am again. Wetin them want make we do sef? Them want make we protest again so that them go shoot us? Why them dey push us like this for this country? Na so them dey do for other countries? If they increase fuel price now, we go use all our money buy fuel but passengers no go wan pay, how we go take recover our money? They no know say we dey do account? Make them no nd them say this kin thing them dey do us no good.”
Adewale, a vehicle mechanic attached to a workshop off NTA road, Port Harcourt, called on President Muhammadu Buhari to use his power to stop the planned fuel increase and save the Nigerian masses of another round of suffering.
“I heard the news this morning but I did not believe it. Why I did not believe it is because they know that people have suffered so much in this country – all of us. I don’t believe that the government will think of increasing fuel price again because they know that we are angry with them. Was it not last three weeks that Nigerians protested against police brutality and bad governance? Even now the matter is still going on. They freezed people’s accounts and even shot some people because of that protest and people are angry. How can they make people more angry again with fuel price increase? That’s why I still don’t believe that they will do it. May be they just want to pull our legs to see how we will feel about it. Therefore I want to tell President Buhari to use all his power to stop this nonsense they want to do. I don’t know if it is NNPC people that are planning it or the petroleum marketers, only God knows. But whoever that is planning to increase fuel price again in this country, it will not be well with him. President Buhari and my brother there who says he is a pastor, am talking of the vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo – in fact I don’t even know if he’s still a pastor because he can’t be a pastor and is seeing what is happening in this country and still keep quiet. But if he’s still there and is still a pastor, let him work with Buhari to stop this evil they want to do -this fuel price increase,” he said.
Asked what he thinks should be done if the fuel price increase becomes a reality at the end of the day, Adewale said: “If they go ahead and increase it, everybody should go on strike: the drivers, we the mechanics, the civil servants, the traders, the market women, all of us. We should just use two days to buy enough food and keep; those who have should help those who don’t have and then we start the strike, government workers o. private workers o, everybody. Just stay in your house, don’t go out, let us see if they will not reduce it by force. It is because anything they do, we keep quiet, that’s why they are punishing us like this.”
An official of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Rivers State branch, who pleaded for anonymity, wondered if the federal government wants to use the fuel price to indirectly make the Nigerian masses pay for the loans it is borrowing.
“There is no basis for the increase unless they want to use it as a tactis to raise money to pay back or service the loans they are borrowing. The worst part is that we can’t even see what they are doing with all the loans they are collecting. They should not think of increasing fuel price because the people are the ones that will suffer it most. When they increase it now, our members will increase their fares because they have to recover their money they used to buy fuel. Then the passengers will be forced to pay the increased fares. We’re not happy about it at all because prices of food will also go up. If you go to the market you will be shocked at the high cost of food. It’s a terrible situation. We’re like people in hell fire. Why won’t people be dying every day because of hypertension? It’s because the suffering is too much, so they are thinking too much,” the NURTW official said.
TPCN understands that some petrol marketers in Rivers State are not in support of this planned increase of fuel price as they believe it will have an adverse effect on the masses.
For instance, the Independent Petrol Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) is very critical of the move.
Speaking on the issue on Rhythm 93.7 FM on Saturday morning, chairman of IPMAN, from Eleme, Joseph Obelle, said his association is not part of the move to increase petrol, adding that it will bring total hardship on Nigerians.
