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The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the government of President Bola Tinubu of increasing economic suffering in the country, following the increase in petrol prices to as much as N1,470 per litre. Executive Branch
The party said the rise had made transit and other essential commodities more expensive, bringing the Nigerian people “dangerously close to the limits of human endurance”.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, in Abuja yesterday, the ADC said the impact of increasing petrol prices was being felt in food, travel, power, education and other aspects of everyday life.
President Tinubu has turned the petrol pump into a weapon to punish ordinary Nigerians. Food, transit, energy, education and everything Nigerians need to exist responds directly to the price of petrol and work together to make life tough for the majority of Nigerians’, the party stated.
The ADC also pointed to stories of private schools raising fees by between 30 and 40 per cent, claiming the development was another sign of the economic squeeze on families.
It claimed the rises were coming at a time when salaries had not kept pace, leaving parents to shoulder the increasing cost of fuel, food, rent, transport and education.
Parents are not being paid 40 per cent more. Their wages have not kept up with the prices of fuel, food, rent, transit and school fees. But this government is asking already stretched people to pay more at every turn.”
The opposition party said it did not blame the school owners for the hike in fees adding that they too were coping with increased taxes, electricity bills, fuel prices, rent and salaries.
“The economy of Tinubu and the APC has made parents, workers and business casualties.
The ADC further stated that the present petrol price was an additional hardship on Nigerians, adding that its effect was beyond the expense of transportation.
Petrol is not a commodity for N1,470 per litre. It is a Tinubu Tax that has made living unpleasant to the majority of people. Nigerians have been tightening their belts under Tinubu and APC. There are no more openings now and people have started choking. “Families are now skipping meals, pulling children out of school, giving up medical treatment and closing businesses,” it claimed.
The party also accused the administration of asking the common Nigerians to make sacrifices when public servants, it said, were still living an expensive life at the public expense.
A reform that continues to impoverish the masses is not working. An economic policy that has impressive stats at official briefings and starvation in Nigerian homes is a failure. “The government has failed spectacularly at its most basic responsibility when parents are forced to choose between feeding their children and educating them.”
The ADC claimed Nigerians will have the option of either continuing with what it termed Tinubu’s “punishment” or the relief scheme offered by its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the 2027 presidential election.
“The party re-affirmed Atiku’s pledge to restore subsidy to boost local production of fuel, saying this would bring down the price of petrol and ease the cost of food, transport and production.
“Economic reform should be for the people not at the expense of the people as Tinubu and APC are doing,” the ADC added.
“Nigeria cannot be an oil producing country where its citizens see every visit to a filling station as a punishment.
The party also cautioned the ruling party against using Nigerians’ patience as endorsement or submission. Africans & Diaspora
“Our resilience must not be an excuse for ongoing cruelty. Tinubu has had his turn and caused enough pain. “People are suffering, businesses are dying and hope is getting more expensive. President Tinubu has to act now. “Don’t push the Nigerians to the wall.” the ADC urged.
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