The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) says the proposed increase in the price of petroleum from N165 to N340 per litre can trigger tension and crises in Nigeria.
The PFN, said this, in turn, could paralyze the nation’s economy if not handled with utmost care.
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Its president, Bishop Wale Oke, in a statement Sunday, said removing fuel subsidy would worsen the suffering of the majority of Nigerians, advising the Federal Government against it.
He said: “Everybody will feel it, particularly the less privileged. The negative effects will surely outweigh the positive.
“The cost of transportation for human and goods across the country will skyrocket and other things connected which will have a spiral effect on general living standard of the populace; the suffering will be multi-dimensional. Please, let all stakeholders be sensitive to this avoidable path and do the needful.
“By whatever means, let the Federal Government put its heart into ensuring that our refineries are back to life. In addition, in order to stem the rising cost of living, farmers and others connected to them should be encouraged. This is what can help our economy.”
He said the PFN would always support policies that would enhance good governance, urging the government to put in place tangible palliative measures that could ameliorate the hardship being experienced.
He said: “Without begging the issue, there should be well defined palliative measures in place that can cushion the effect of the hardship being experienced by Nigerians, especially the commoners. One is not talking about political palliatives that never last. We’ve seen enough of such.
“Again, the planned introduction of N5, 000 for 40 million poor Nigerians is to create a cesspool of corruption. How do you define the poor? They, mostly, don’t use telephones. They, mostly, don’t have bank accounts. How will the money get to them?”
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