N617/Ltr: Tinubu Stirring Up A Recipe for Imminent Crisis-Ethnic Leaders

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been warned that the increase of fuel price to N617 per litre is a move that would stir up an imminent crisis. The President was warned that Nigeria might witness a repeat of the EndSARS protest or the fuel subsidy removal protest of the ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

In an interview, the global President of Yoruba Council Worldwide and secretary-general of Nigerian ethnic nationalities youth leaders council, Aare Oladotun Hassan, said President Tinubu must begin to take radical decisions and positions in his policies.

He stated that the increase in fuel price and the inflation of the Naira to Dollar rate might instigate a “reactive violent protest from the citizens.”

Hassan said: “We’ve been pegged as the poverty capital of the world…And it’s a recipe for reactive violent protest from citizens. Because in the coming days, at N617 per litre, just at the NNPC rate as far as Lagos is concerned.

“That is not to say that if you’re going to Gusau, you will not buy at N800 or N1500 in the far east. In Enugu or Calabar, you will not buy at N2000 per litre, depending on the nexus and proximity of where you’re lifting the fuel. The farther the lifting and distribution of the fuel, the higher the cost. So there’s no blanket price.”

Hassan stated that the initial fuel price of N500/litre was a sacrifice Nigerians were willing to undergo, but the increase to N617/litre was unacceptable.

He expressed his surprise that the federal government still allows the NNPCL to determine the fuel price when they are no longer public entities.

He said: “Nigerians are trusting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can deliver and that is why we throw our heart open to accept his offer of patience when the price of fuel was at N500. “But now that the NNPCL is determining the price is even an anonally. Because NNPC is a private organisation…It’s a government entity operating on a private structure.”

He charged President Tinubu to adopt a holistic approach at all angles ranging from security, economy, and welfare or risk managing a ranging population that might troop out in mass protest and cause chaos.

He also noted that labour unions might soon begin to carry out industrial demonstrations that could cause a total shutdown of the economy. “Nigerians have outweighed all their patience, and in the next few days, there would be calls for strikes, there would be calls for a shutdown of the system, and this would become a very disastrous situation that would take us many years to recover from,” he added.

Similarly, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to tackle the aftermath effect of the fuel subsidy removal with assertiveness and proactiveness. In an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, the global President of Yoruba Council Worldwide, Aare Oladotun Hassan, said Tinubu must deploy a veritable policy direction. He also urged the President to increase its palliative funds from N8,000 to N50,000 for the 12 million families projected as beneficiaries.