Emmanuel OchayiPhrank Shaibu, Special Assistant to former VP Atiku Abubakar on Public Communication, demands transparency in petrol pricing from the APC-led government, calling for data on landing costs and pricing strategies below N640 per litre.
Shaibu’s daring statement comes in response to a press release from the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Felix Morka. Shaibu vehemently refuted the government’s assertion of complete deregulation in the petroleum sector, stating that subsidy payments still persist.
He emphasized, “The Petroleum Industry Act mandates the total deregulation of the petroleum sector. A deregulated regime has no room for price control. If the APC is saying subsidy is not back, they should explain how petrol is still being sold at less than N650 per litre when the international price of crude oil is about $94 per barrel and the exchange rate on the I&E Window is N780/$1 and N1,000/$1 on the parallel market.”
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He continued, “How is it that diesel, which has been deregulated, currently costs about N1,000 per litre while petrol is over 25% less? Let the APC explain and stop peddling lies.”
Shaibu criticized the APC-led government for what he perceived as admissions of failure through the removal and detention of some of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointees.
He stated, “The same APC that praised Godwin Emefiele for eight years and deceived Nigerians with propaganda and their so-called agricultural revolution has gone ahead to sack the same Emefiele and detain him for four months.”
He also questioned the APC’s commitment to reducing the cost of governance, particularly regarding the appointment of ministers.
He said, “Tinubu claimed he wanted to cut the cost of governance and yet appointed 48 ministers out of which 10 are from his region. Yet the APC claims he is running a fair administration. This is laughable.”
In addition, Shaibu called for greater focus on governance over propaganda, as he believed the patience of Nigerians was wearing thin. He cited economist Wale Edun’s recent statement that the last time Nigeria’s economy performed well was a decade ago as an admission of the APC’s failure.
Shaibu concluded by demanding an apology from Tinubu for alleged misrepresentation of a proposed meeting with United States President Joe Biden.
He criticized the description of a brief encounter at the G20 summit in India as a “meeting of Biden and Tinubu” and questioned Tinubu’s transparency regarding his travels.
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