…as APC urges FG to come clean on reasons for fuel scarcity

From Ayodele Samuel, Lagos

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged the federal government to level up with Nigerians on the reasons for the ongoing debilitating fuel scarcity that has further compounded the pains inflicted on the citizens.

In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday, by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the fact that the scarcity has persisted has put a lie to the government’s well-worn line that the long queues at filling stations were caused by panic buying.

It said the queues that have been witnessed in Lagos and other major cities in recent days are the longest and the most chaotic in Nigeria in recent years, and have shown that the situation is not just due to panic buying but a consequence of a more serious problem.

“The truth is that ordinary Nigerians are suffering the consequences of the runway corruption in our country’s oil sector, much as the government would want the citizens to believe otherwise. With huge funds unaccounted for by the NNPC, the so-called subsidy shrouded in secrecy and those who robbed the nation blind under the guise of fuel subsidy walking free, it was just a matter of time for the country to witness the kind of scarcity that has now grounded socio-economic activities across the land.

“We know that this Federal Government lacks credibility and has consistently lied to Nigerians on various issues affecting them, and we urge it to come clean for once on the reasons for this fuel scarcity and also step up efforts to end it.

“Coming at a time that power supply is at the worst and Nigerians rely on their electricity generators to stave off darkness and heat, it is downright cruel and totally inexplicable that the government would compound the monumental suffering of the people by its inability to provide fuel which they need to power their generators. Furthermore, hapless commuters are paying exorbitant fares to move from one point to another,’’ APC said.

The party said a government that has been touting uninterrupted supply of fuel as an achievement, even when that is the least that the people expect from their government, has now lost perhaps the main feather in its cap due to massive corruption, dwindling resources due to unprecedented looting of the commonwealth and blatant incompetence.

“These are the factors that have made it impossible for the government to issue, on time, the approvals to oil marketers to bring in the much-needed fuel, revive the nation’s refineries or even build new ones.

“The implication is that Nigerians should brace up for more fuel scarcity in the weeks and months ahead, even if the current one is resolved one way or another,” it said.