Abdulsalami: Petrol price increase will push more Nigerians into poverty

General Abdulsalami Abubakar (Rtd), former Head of State, has warned against increase in the pump price of fuel.

Nigerians are on the verge of paying more for petrol following the recommendation of the National Economic Council (NEC) that pump price should be pegged at N302 per litre.

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But speaking at the 19th Daily Trust Dialogue in Abuja, the former Head of State warned against such move.

“Insecurity in the country is worsened by our dear economic situation. Unemployment and underemployment remain at the high level. Over 18 million Nigerians are still caught up in needless poverty. All of these tend to have negative effects on security. In fact, Nigeria now faces a full security crisis that is confounded by the COVID-19 global pandemic and the banditry in many states in Northern Nigeria.

“Most of these have disrupted the final value change across the country and negatively impacted the ability of Nigeria to produce, process, and distribute.

“There is a continuous rise in the prices of food items beyond the reach of many Nigerians. On top of all these, fuel prices are expected to rise significantly in the coming months as announced last November. We all know that when this happens, it will push many millions of Nigerians into poverty.”

Nigeria is at crossroads

He also spoke on other challenges confronting the country, saying security forces have been overstretched.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Nigeria is once again at crossroads. Insecurity remains the single, most difficult challenges for the country. The Boko Haram insurgency in the North East, banditry in the North West, violence in the South East, kidnappings and abductions of travelers across many states all continue to fester in the land.”

“In addition to these, ethnic, communal and religious conflicts are rearing their head very hardly again in many parts of the country. All of these have greatly challenged and overstretched our security forces. This has caused thousands of deaths and millions of internally displaced persons in the country over the past years”.