Politics
APM Slams Okpebholo’s Fuel Comment, Says Nigerians Can’t Bear More Hardship
The Allied Peoples Movement (APM) has demanded the resignation of Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, following his attempt to justify the high cost of fuel in the country under the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
The APM strongly condemned the increase in the pump price of fuel to over N1,500 per litre at a time when Nigerians are eagerly expecting a reduction, describing it as a brutal assault on citizens by the Tinubu administration.
The party said the increase at this time was a huge recipe for crisis, stressing that Nigerians are already overburdened and cannot bear its suffocating effect on their lives.
In a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the APM, Abubakar Yusuf, on Sunday, the party said it was reckless and irresponsible of Governor Okpebholo to state that Nigerians should not complain about the N1,500 per litre cost of fuel because it is cheaper than an average N3,000 per litre cost in the United Kingdom.
The APM said the governor failed to take into consideration the per capita income and purchasing power of an average Nigerian compared to that of a British citizen.
“It is to say the least callous for a state governor to attempt to benchmark petrol price in Nigeria with that of the UK where the purchasing power of an average wage earner is over £2,636 (N4.6 million) monthly compared to the paltry N70,000 monthly minimum wage earned by their peers in Nigeria.”
The statement added that while an average school teacher in Nigeria earns N70,000 or less, his counterpart in the UK receives a monthly starting salary of about £2,839 (N4.9 million).
It also noted that while an average Nigerian wage earner is subjected to an informal, chaotic, heavily and expensive public transportation system, public transport in the United Kingdom is structured, highly regulated and heavily subsidized by the British government for the benefit of citizens.
The APM further stated that Governor Okpebholo failed to tell Nigerians that in other oil-producing countries such as Libya and even Iran, which is presently at war, petrol is sold at an average equivalent of N41 to N52 per litre.
“It is therefore completely irrational and highly provocative for APC Governor Okpebholo to attempt compare the situation in the UK to that of Nigeria. Such comment from a governor is capable of triggering a widespread protest and breakdown of law and order across the country.”
The party said this was especially concerning against the backdrop of public apprehension that the Edo State governor’s comment could be a test ground for the APC administration to justify a further increase in the pump price of petrol as part of what it described as the APC’s plot to inflict more hardship on Nigerians.
Nevertheless, the APM urged Nigerians not to despair, saying the 2027 Presidential election affords the nation an opportunity to vote in what it described as humane, transparent, people-based and efficient leadership, embodied in its Presidential Candidate, Engr. Seyi Makinde.
The party said that under a Makinde/Daura Presidency and its Reset Agenda, the interest and wellbeing of all Nigerians would be the top priority of government.
“Nigerians do not deserve this level of intolerable suffering that the APC-led administration has subjected them to given the enormous resources at the disposal of the government.”
The APM therefore urged Nigerians to remain steadfast as they rally to forge a new beginning for the nation on the platform of the party.