By Uche Mbah
Nigerians have been asked by Civil Society groups to revolt against the Government’s planned fuel price hike this New Year, as, according to them, this would worsen the poverty level within the country.
The group, People’s Alternative Political Movement, TPAP-M, is made up of the Coalition NGO Networks in Northern Nigeria, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees, Campaign for Transformative Governance, CFTG, representatives of Informal Sector Workers, Women formations, and youth and young persons, including those who continue to play front line roles in the #EndSARS movement-arguably the greatest coalition of civil society groups-urged Nigerians to brace up for the battle ahead.
At a meeting on the “deteriorating state of the Nation in general, the unacceptable evolving developments with regards to rising energy costs, and the impending unconscionable hikes in fuel price and electricity tariff being proposed by the anti-people regime currently superintending over the Nigerian state on behalf of the failed and ruining Ruling Class,” the group warned that the impoverishment of the masses is the target of all the expected hikes- the rising gas prices, and the threatened hikes in fuel prices. Small and medium scale businesses will struggle to survive and will lay off staff and many will even close shop.
In a communique by Omotoye Olorode and Jaye Gaskia (TPAP-M Secretariat), among others, the group said: “We reject in its totality the hike in the price of Gas, and the impending hikes in the price of fuel and electricity tariff. We insist that Nigerians cannot and must not be punished for the failures and incompetence of the ruling class and this regime in ensuring access to affordable energy and adequate security and protection.
“We demand that past and present managements of the NNPC and the four moribund refineries should be indicted, prosecuted and brought to book for their crass incompetence that has resulted into the failure since 2012 to have to turn around the fortunes of the refineries and make them work at optimum capacity, thus contributing significantly to Nigeria’s ability to acquire adequate domestic refining capacity.
“We demand that all political office holders who have had responsibility for oversighting – in executive or legislative capacity, the petroleum sector should be investigated, indicted and prosecuted.
“We demand the complete reversal of the power sector privatisation, and the re-nationalisation of the power sector, bringing it under the control and management of key stakeholders, including workers, and electricity consumers. We demand the recovery of all looted and misappropriated public funds pumped into the petroleum and power sectors (towards improving domestic refining capacity, increasing domestic production of LPG, or towards improving service delivery in the privatised power firms), etc.
“The recovered funds should be utilised to build new public refineries, improve domestic LPG production, and improve service delivery in the renationalised power sector. We insist that any government that is unable to build public refineries and enable adequate domestic refining capacity for refined petroleum products should resign immediately.
“In a similar vein, we call on all Nigerians to ensure that they reject any political party and their candidates who do not have any practical, fundable and believable program to resolve the energy crisis, and ensure adequate domestic refining capacity for refined petroleum products, adequate domestic production capacity for LPG, and improved services and coverage for electricity across the country.”
“TPAP-M and her allies will organise a week of mobilisations and awareness raising at the beginning of January 2022 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Occupy Nigeria – the January Uprising of 2012; and as well to build up momentum towards generalised mass protests across the country to resist the impending hikes in fuel price and electricity tariff, and the unfolding hike in the price of Gas. We demand a plan and a timeline to meet our demands. In view of the above, an expanded Coordinating Committee to wage the struggle against Hikes in Energy Prices would be established immediately.”
