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General News of Friday, 27 January 2023

Source: www.legit.ng

End fuel scarcity or face mass protest - Coalition cautions Buhari

President Buhari President Buhari

A coalition of Civil Society Organisations operating under the aegis of Civil Society Coalition for Economic Well-being and Good Governance on Thursday, January 26, issued a 72-hour ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari to end fuel scarcity in the country or face mass protests.

Addressing journalists including a Legit.ng reporter in Abuja, leaders of the coalition, Garba Danjuma Danzi, chairman and Dr Ayodele Simon Hughes, secretary-general, decried the difficulties faced by Nigerians over the lingering fuel scarcity across the country.

They accused the Nigeria National Petroleum Limited (NNPL) for being responsible for the scarcity and called for the sack of the group managing director of NNPL, Mele Abba Kyari and the minister of state for petroleum, Timipre Sylva, within 72 hours.

According to them, both officials have failed in their statutory responsibilities, thus, leading to untold hardship on Nigerians.

The groups further called on President Muhammadu Buhari to disband the recently constituted steering committee which he chairs, arguing that the Nigerian leader's involvement with his political party's electioneering campaign will be a distraction.

The coalition said; “The NNPL is sole importer of fuel into the country and as privilege officials serving in President Buhari administration, the duo of Kyari and Sylva have not made deliberate efforts to tackle the endless embarrassing fuel scarcity in the country.

“Consumers are being exploited by the retailers as most filling stations have adjusted their meters to black market prices. “The regulatory body - Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority is called upon to ensure strict observance of government approved depot and retail prices.”

The groups urged the federal government to constitute a taskforce made up of security and paramilitary agents to patrol the nation’s borders to stop the smuggling of fuel out of Nigeria.