The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected the April 1 tweaking of fuel price from N125 to N123.50k, insisting that petrol price should be reduced to N90 per litre.
The party, in a statement on Thursday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbindiyan, described the reduction of pump price by N1.50k as offensive and fraudulent.
It argued that it was a “further display of “cruelty and insensitivity” of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the plight of Nigerians, particularly as the nation battles the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The PDP insists that the correct price of pump price fuel is between N80 to N90 per litre, given the slump in the price of fuel and crude oil in the international market.
“The PDP holds that any price beyond that is completely unacceptable, as it amounts to fleecing Nigerians. The party berates the APC administration for attempting to delude Nigerians by tweaking the cost decimals to create a misleading impression of price reduction while fleecing the unsuspecting public.
“The PDP challenges the APC and its administration to explain how they arrived at the pump price of N123.50k instead of the appropriate price of N90 per litre despite the fall in international price.
“The PDP asks the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to disprove Nigerians by immediately publishing the full prevailing landing cost, the prevailing 3% depot cost, the 3% trucking cost as well as the retail outlet admin cost and show why the pump price should be above N90 per litre.
“It indeed smacks of heartlessness that the APC, its leaders and cronies in government circle are rather manipulating fuel costs at this critical time when other governments across the world are seeking ways to mitigate the economic hardship being faced by their citizens,” the party said.
