Human rights activist and the convener of the Revolutionnow movement, Omoyele Sowore has issued an urgent call for resistance against the recent fuel price hike, which has exacerbated the economic struggles faced by citizens across the country.
With the price increase representing the fourth such hike under President Tinubu’s administration in less than two years, Sowore’s message pointed out the fact that immediate action need to be taken to protect Nigerians from the mounting financial pressure and to hold the government accountable for its policies.
In a strongly-worded Facebook post, Sowore made it known that Tinubu’s regime is “sucking the life out of the citizenry.”
He insisted that the only way forward is to resist these measures, using the hashtag #RevolutionNow to rally support for immediate action in response to the recent fuel price hike and mounting economic pressures faced by Nigerians
He wrote, “Nigerians must realize by now that @officialABAT is here to suck the life out of the citizenry, and he won’t stop until the majority of Nigerians are smothered! The only option for survival is to fight back NOW!
#RevolutionNow”
On Wednesday morning, Nigerians awoke to a sudden increase in petrol prices at filling stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) again. The hike, which saw prices surge to N1030 per litre, has fueled concerns about the implications for citizens already grappling with economic challenges and the potential ripple effects on the country’s overall financial stability.
Also reacting to the fuel price increment, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) said the only thing Tinubu’s government is known for is increasing fuel pump price without providing mitigatory measures.
The labour union challenged the Nigerian government to go to the drawing board and present Nigerians with a blueprint for an inclusive economic growth and national development instead of what it described as “spasmodic ad hocism” and palliative policy.
The statement reads, “We are dismayed by the latest increase in the pump price of petrol. It looks like the only thing this government is known for is increase in the pump price of petrol without commensurate capacity of Nigerians or mitigatory measures.
“Even following the logic of market forces, we find it an aberration that a private company (NNPCL) is the one fixing prices and projecting itself as a hegemonic monopoly.
“We challenge the government to go to the drawing board and present us with a blueprint for an inclusive economic growth and national development instead of this spasmodic ad hocism and palliative policy.
“It needs no stating the fact that the latest wave of increase has grossly altered the calculations of Nigerians once again at a time they were reluctantly coming to terms with their new realities.
“It will further deepen poverty as production capacities dip, more jobs lost with multidimensional negative effects.
“In light of this, we urge the government to immediately reverse this rate hike as previous increases did not produce any good result. People only got poorer.
“But more fundamentally, the government should be bold enough to tell Nigerians in advance the destination it wants to take the country.”
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