The Arewa Youth Forum, AYF, has condemned in strong terms the increase in pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, popularly known as petrol.

In a statement issued by its National President, Ahmed Mohammed Zagi and made available to DAILY POST, the group said it received with shock the increase in price of petrol to over N600.

The youths noted that the N8,000 monthly stipend to some families in the country, although a welcome development, was far inadequate and should be reviewed upwards, looking at the skyrocketing cost of goods and services in the country.

It appealed to the federal government to inspire states to prioritise agricultural revolution that would ensure enough food protection in the country, believing that such efforts would lead to the crashing of prices of food products through the natural law of demand and supply.

The youths also appealed to President Tinubu and his advisers to think harder and come up with lasting solutions to the economic misfortunes of the country.

Troops of operation Hadarin Daji, a military component, have rescued 40 kidnapped victims in Kyairu, Kyaram and Alkama communities in Bukkuyum Local Government area of Zamfara State.

According to a press statement by Army authority, the victims were kidnapped when armed bandits invaded Kyairu, Kyaram and Alkama communities.

The statement noted that the successes followed an intelligent report of heavily armed bandits’ movement in the affected communities.

“The troops however mobilized to the area, blocked the bandits’ route and engaged them in a fire for fire operation which lasted for hours forcing the bandits to flee into the forest and abandon the kidnapped victims”, the statement added.

The statement read in parts “on 17th July 2023, following Intelligent report that Armed bandits had kidnapped an unspecified number of persons from villages around Bukuyyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

“The Troops immediately mobilized swiftly for a fighting patrol and established blocking positions around the bandits’ withdrawal routes around Kyairu/Kyaram and Alkama villages in Bukuyyum Local Government Area of Zamfara State.”

It also noted that the 40 rescued kidnapped victims were reunited with their families, while ten of them were handed over to the local chief of Gwashi to connect them with their respective families

Recall that this is the second time in one week that troops of Operation Hadarin Daji have rescued kidnapped victims at various bandits’ enclaves and routes in Bukkuyum Local Government Area of the State.

Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu never ceases to amaze. He never ceases to exhibit the different shades of the moral decadence that compelled a vast majority of Nigerians who voted in the 2023 presidential elections to roundly reject him. The shade currently trending centers on sheer hypocrisy.

In two different stops at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU), Tinubu appealed to the African states to ensure that the menace of terrorism and military coups in the continent are something of the past. He also attempted to promote the rule of law. Coup d’état and terrorism, by the way, are historically the two of the major misadventures that tend to threaten the African corrupt elite.

Seemingly worried that Mr. Tinubu failed to address the key concerns of the ordinary people, the Nigerian Vanguard Newspaper in its editorial page of July 13, 2023, countered as follows:

“Tinubu has already identified terrorism and the resurgence of military coups as some of the problems of the region. Let us also add the mass migrations to Europe and America, particularly the desperate migrations through the Sahara Desert. We also have the problem of armed and violent nomadic herdsmen causing a major security threat in Nigeria.”

But the Vanguard did not stop there.

The paper reminded Tinubu that “The common cause of these problems is bad governance. ECOWAS must, like their European counterparts, adopt a uniform set of governance principles that will help unleash the vast human and natural resources potentials of sister states.”

The Vanguard concluded that “A Nigeria in shambles is another reason that ECOWAS is in shambles. A country in a situation of virtual failure cannot lead a regional economic community to success.”

Nothing can be nearer to the truth.

Besides highlighting that Tinubu ignored the more pressing needs of the ordinary people, the Vanguard editors stated in clear terms that Nigeria, a bastion of bad governance, lacks the moral high grounds to counsel other African states on coups and terrorism. This goes without saying that the Life-Leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government lacks the credibility to speak on such violent extremism, let alone the rule of law.

For instance, as the APC Leader, Tinubu never opposed the wanton abuse of the rule of law under the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari. A perfect example is the case of a frontline Nigerian human rights activist and the 2023 presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore, who was detained for over five months in 2019 without bail. Sowore’s crime was the mere mention of revolution against bad governance. Yet, the current occupant of Aso Rock never decried such brazen injustice notwithstanding that he and Buhari had at different times threatened revolution when Goodluck Jonathan was in power. 

Even under the current Tinubu rule, Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has remained in jail, even though a court of law in the land had declared him innocent. There is also the case of the immediate past governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, who was bundled and thrown in jail without bail. Of course, these are clear abuses of the rule of law.

Let’s then dive into the main gist of this essay: Coup D’état. Marriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “a sudden decisive exercise of force in politics, especially: the violent overthrow or alteration of an existing government by a small group.” Clearly, beyond the typical overthrow of government as Nigerians know it, the free world knows that any power gained through illegal alteration of state authority or any confluence of violence and other electoral irregularities is a pure coup d’état.

Tinubu’s hypocrisy with terrorism is even more apparent. The same Marriam-Webster Dictionary defines terrorism as “the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.” But it is a common knowledge that violent extremism is Tinubu’s stock in trade.

Recall that he never for once condemned the various acts of terrorism promoted and sponsored by his associates against non-indigenes living in the State of Lagos during the 2019 and 2023 general elections. Tinubu continues to maintain stoic silence while Asari Dokubo (a notorious hoodlum who claims him as a father) goes about brandishing guns, terrorizing an entire tribe. Osama Bn Laden did not crash planes into the New York towers by himself; his associates did.

Mr. Tinubu has every reason to be nervous. As the Vanguard Newspaper had counseled, the solution to coup and other social vices is good governance. Let me now add that good governance in Nigeria and Africa in general begins with true war against corruption. But the problem of the moment is that expecting a meaningful war on corruption from the APC National Leader is as futile as attempting to fetch water with an Ugbo basket.

The only solution, therefore, is Tinubu’s outright removal either through the courts or impeachment, so that Nigeria can enthrone an authentic leader capable to provide the desired good governance.

SKC Ogbonnia writes from Ugbo, Enugu State. 

In just over two weeks, Borno State has experienced four devastating attacks by Boko Haram insurgents that killed at least 36 lives in the state.

These attacks, mostly targeted at farmers in their fields, threaten a reversal of the relative peace and food security that the state gradually attained over the years.  

These attacks, which are likely to be higher than reported, mostly took place in southern Borno–the agricultural hub of the state–and are threatening food security in Borno, the North East, and the country at large. 

The most recent attack was on June 26 when suspected Boko Haram militants ambushed eight farmers on their way to farm and slaughtered seven farmers in Damboa Local Government Area of the state. 

Locals and security sources said the incident happened around 11:30am in the Bulajimbam area of the council. 

“It is sad; seven people lost their lives and you see it is difficult for us to tell these people not to go to farm. We are working hard to ensure they are protected,” a security source who preferred anonymity told Daily Trust. 

In another attack, on June 14, 15 people working on their farmlands were also slaughtered and some beheaded by suspected Boko Haram insurgents in Damboa and Jere local government areas. 

Bukar Ali Musty, a top member of the vigilante group, said the farmers were working on their farmlands near Molai, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, when insurgents attacked and beheaded them. 

“At least 15 dead bodies were evacuated after the attack this morning. 

“Seven farmers were beheaded while working on their farms and the attackers also slit the throats of eight other harmless civilians in their homes,” the vigilante source said. 

On June 22, eight woodmongers were also killed in a fresh Boko Haram attack in Mafa, the local government council of Borno State governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum. 

This attack, which came barely a week after that of the slain farmers, happened in Bulamari village.

According to a Civilian JTF source, the insurgents killed eight out of the nine young loggers who were under the age of 20 and deliberately spared the life of one.

“They only allowed one Babakura, a 15-year-old boy, to come and break the story in the town.  

“They tied their hands behind their backs and shot them in the heads. We went there together with the Civilians’ Joint Task Force to bring the corpses for burial; only one person was married among them, and all of them were young men,” he said. 

On June 30, six other people, including a woman, were killed by the suspected Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) in Damboa Local Government Area of the state. 

According to sources, the attackers stormed the town around 8:30pm and fired mortar bombs into Damboa town, the local government headquarters, and 21 innocent people were injured. 

Sources from the security claimed that after failing to gain access into the town, the attackers hauled a mortar bomb that killed six people and injured 21 in Wulari area, near the district head’s palace. 

“Yes, there was an attack by ISWAP last night in Damboa town. We lost six people including women and more than 20 people were taken to the hospital, but the situation is calm now,” a security source said. 

A top member of Civilian JTF told Daily Trust that those killed included housewives and aged women.

However, the most disturbing aspect of the killings is their change of modus operandi; the insurgents now trail the farmers and slaughter them quietly in their isolated farmlands. 

Also, in most of these areas attacked by the insurgents, the locals complained of minimal or no security presence at the time of the attacks.

ISWAB accuses locals of spying, bans farming

In a new development, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) was said to have imposed a ban on farming, fishing, and herding activities in the remote northeastern region of Marte. 

A local source told Daily Trust that the move was to halt agricultural activities in areas under the control of the ISWAP to punish the farming communities over alleged spying for the military that carried out aerial bombardment in their location. 

It was gathered that in the coordinated airstrikes, many ISWAP commanders were killed, and the group was forced to abandon their bases and seek refuge in locations perceived as safer for them. 

It was gathered that the ISWAP Leadership vowed to kill farmers or fishermen found within the general areas of Katikime, Bulungahe, Kutukungunla, Chikun Gudu, Tumbumma, Guma Kura, Guma Gana and New Marte, after accusing them of spying on their activities to the Nigerian military.

Zulum releases 80 vehicles to transport farmers to Damboa 

Meanwhile, the Borno State governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has released 50 buses and 30 pick-up vans to convey farmers to their farms for free in Damboa LGA and other parts of the state. 

“To reduce the high cost of living caused by the withdrawal of fuel subsidy, Gov Babagana Umara Zulum released 80 buses and pick-up vans for free transportation of farmers. 

“The 80 means of transport will comprise 50 luxurious buses to be allocated from the fleet of the Borno Express Corporation, while the 30 pick-up vans will be hired by the state government,” he said.

Zulum urged the military to consider the farmers’ population to avoid subjecting them to the rigour of checks that would consume the farming period.

“You can see thousands of farmers are here; with their number over 10,000. We acknowledge the tremendous support of the Nigeria Army, the police and paramilitary but we must review the hardship of these local people. 

“I’m here not to undermine the effort of the Nigerian army, but to make things easy for the generality of the people of Borno State. For this, the Nigerian Army should devise methods of surveillance to reduce the hardships. 

“Rainy season has a short span, a maximum of three months; screening each and sundry would take at least four hours, and this is never possible.  

“I’m urging the Nigerian Army to look into the possibility of allowing the farmers to go into their farmlands to farm on time, because food insecurity is the worst form of insecurity,” he said. 

Farmers fear possible attacks 

With these attacks that continue to escalate, farmers in Damboa, especially the western part, have continued to express uncertainties over the security situation in the area. 

One of the farmers, Alhaji Sheriff Damboa, said despite huge intervention by the state government, many farmers were forced to abandon their farms. 

“Lots of farmers have abandoned their farmlands for fear of being killed, especially after the most recent killings. Days after Eid-el-adha, 6 farmers were slaughtered. We recovered their corpses and buried them. 

“So, if enough security is not provided, farmers wouldn’t be able to carry out their farm activities without fear, especially in this season that we are experiencing a shortage of rainfall. The worst part is that after all the hardships, most farmers have to pay or even get killed by the insurgents before they harvest,” he said.

Another farmer, Hassan Mohammed, said farmers could only cultivate within five kilometres from Damboa town. 

“Nobody can cultivate beyond 5km from Damboa town because the security operatives concentrate in the town and its fringes. So, those with the illusion that more land would be opened up for cultivation are not telling you the truth,” he added.

IF there’s one thing Nigerians seem to be clear on about the proposed measure to ease the immediate harsh effect of the fuel subsidy removal, it is that they are not interested in the conditional cash transfer scheme. Under this plan, the Federal Government is to transfer N8,000 over a six months period to poor Nigerians or low income-earning households, the so called poorest of the poor.

It is a palliative measure that comes directly from the passage of the bill that amended the 2022 supplementary budget after the Federal Government had secured a World Bank loan of $800 million. It is from this loan that the government would source the N500 billion that will constitute the pool from which poor Nigerians would have their accounts directly credited with N8,000. This, it is expected, would help them tide over the worsening effect of the removal of the subsidy on fuel on May 29, 2023.

As was the case with the removal of the subsidy on fuel, this latest proposal was not an original idea of the Bola Tinubu administration. The palliative measure was first proposed by the Muhammadu Buhari administration ahead of the planned removal of oil subsidy. While the administration was able to push the bill through the lower house of the 9th National Assembly, in the eleventh hour of President Buhari’s time as president, it didn’t have enough time to get it through the Senate. Nigerians would remember their sense of outrage about the government’s action then. They thought it was yet another attempt at drawing Nigeria further into the bind of debt peonage.

The feeling then was that the Buhari administration could leave such proposal to the next government that was due to take over from it in a short while. Even though the departing administration was very keen on pushing this bill through the National Assembly, a mere window dressing that saw it working up to a few hours before the inauguration of the Bola Tinubu administration, it was not eager to give effect to its proposed removal of the subsidy on fuel. That was the dirty job Tinubu was left to execute. This took the bottom out of Garba Shehu’s claim that his then principal, President Buhari, did Bola Tinubu a favour by not yanking off the subsidy on fuel when he had all the time in the world to do that. Otherwise, said Shehu, Tinubu would have lost the election that brought him into office.

The whole point of this then is that, the Tinubu administration is only following up on and executing an approved proposal of its predecessor that was obviously intended for the good of Nigerians. If not for anything else then, the fact that the World Bank loan was to ameliorate in the immediate the unsavoury outcome of subsidy removal, may be enough justification for Tinubu to want to see it through. Isn’t this what Nigerians mean when they talk of government being a continuum? But we should still ask if Tinubu needs to swallow every bitter pill Buhari left for him including one as potentially counterproductive as the one on cash transfer?

Providing cash transfer as palliatives to Nigerians is a well-beaten path Nigerians are not treading for the first time. They have very unhappy tales to tell about this. Thus, the present proposal comes across to them as a poisoned chalice in view of their past experience. As pointed out above, it was the Buhari administration that originated the idea of a World Bank loan that would be used to provide palliatives in the event of the removal of fuel subsidy. All the Tinubu administration has done is to tinker with the details of that plan.

In its original conception, the Buhari government made arrangements for only 10 million Nigerians to benefit from the palliatives. And rather than N8,000 that the Tinubu administration intends to pay Nigerians, the Buhari administration made provision for just N5,000 per person or household. That administration’s social empowerment programmes such as Market Moni, Trader Moni and Farmer Moni that were anchored by the office of the former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, provided the template for the proposed cash transfers. The main difference between that and this is that funds given under the social investment programmes of Buhari were repayable loans whereas the present cash transfers in question are “gifts”.

But the bitter experience of how a previous palliative regime was both poorly and criminally managed has taught Nigerians not to believe in schemes like this. Street wisdom tells us that experience is the best teacher. This is an advisory that is now part of everyday parlance. Are Nigerians now to disbelieve the evidence of their eyes? They’ve been badly bitten once. Is there any crime in being shy a second time around? Those prone to periodic amnesia would be reminded that about this time three years ago, Nigeria like the rest of the world was in the throes of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic when we were grounded by a medical lockdown. All economic and commercial activities came to a grinding halt. The effects were at once very immediate and severe in the extreme aside the morbid fear many nursed of contracting the rampaging pandemic.

It was under these circumstances that the Buhari administration came up with the idea of offering palliatives to the people to assuage their plight. Billions of tax payers’ money was expended on the so-called palliatives by both the Federal and state governments under the overall superintendence of Sadiya Umar Farooq, the Humanitarian Affairs Minister. Corporate organisations, groups and individuals felt called upon to act and everyone gave from the generosity of their hearts. Alongside this, the Federal Government in Abuja went ahead with a so-called home feeding scheme for school children at a time they were all home. Registers were opened across neighbourhoods, towns and states. But for the most part, Nigerians only heard of these palliatives but saw nothing of them.

It wasn’t until the #EndSARS protests of October 2020 by young Nigerians in reaction to the state’s anti-people activities that the whole world got to know the sham that was the palliatives scheme. They invaded and laid bare warehouses where foods and goods meant to be distributed to Nigerians were kept by criminal politicians and public servants. It’s true that Nigerians can use some help right now, call it palliatives or whatever. But they would as likely as not only hear of these palliatives but never get to enjoy them. Beyond this, the idea seems not well thought through. It amounts to no more than subsiding consumption where the government should be investing in infrastructure.

For how long can an individual, much less a family, sustain themselves on N8,000 today?

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the new pump price of petrol fixed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, described the increment as “insults our collective intelligence.”

The NLC in a statement issued by its National President, Joe Ajaero, accused the Tinubu-led government of taking from the poor to pay the rich and unleashing suffering, hardship and sorrow upon Nigerians.

It said it had restrained itself from making further comments publicly on the vexatious issues around the recent but unfortunate unilateral hike in the price of petrol, which was in the guise of “the so-called subsidy withdrawal.”

The statement read in part, “However, the government of Nigeria seems to have been misled into believing that resorting to impunity and imperiousness in governance in a democracy is a beneficial option as it pursues its stated and unstated objectives.

“It is this belief that we are sure has continued shaping the actions of this government since its inauguration on May 29, 2023, to continue inflicting mindless and heartless pains on the populace one after the other without the decency of embracing the tenets of democracy which requires wide and deep stakeholder consultations on weighty matters of state.”

The NLC stated that Nigerians would remember that the Federal Government had called for dialogue in the aftermath of its disastrous forlorn trajectory in the astronomical increase in petroleum product price “and our subsequent call for a nationwide industrial action.”

It said, “We were also witnesses to the actions of the Federal Government in procuring an unholy injunction from the courts which were served us in Gestapo style by trucks laden with fully armed soldiers and policemen.

“In all of these provocations, we remained committed to the principles of the rule of law, good conscience and democracy so that we can continue to be the moral compass for leaders in the public space. This explained our decision to suspend action on the proposed strike.”

The labour union, however, stated that rather than reciprocate the goodwill of Nigerian workers, the Federal Government insisted on threading the path of dictatorship and seeking to impoverish the people further by taking steps that could only be described as robbing the people of Nigeria to pay and feed the rich.

It said, “It is on this basis that the NLC strongly condemns the decision of the Tinubu-led administration to seek the approval of the National Assembly to obtain another tranche of external loans worth N500bn from the World Bank for the purposes of carrying out a phantom palliative measure to cushion the effect of its poorly thought-out hike in the price of PMS.

“Remember that the $800m which was already proposed before the devaluation of the naira by this government was worth about N400bn then but is now worth about N650bn after devaluation. It is from this, it proposes to bring out N500bn for distribution.

“The proposal to pay N8,000 to each of the so-called 12 million poorest Nigerian households for a period of six months insults our collective intelligence and makes a mockery of our patience and abiding faith in social dialogue which the government may have alluded to albeit pretentiously.”

The NLC pointed out that the “further proposal to pay National Assembly members the sum of N70bn and the Judiciary N36bn is the most insensitive, reckless and brazen diversion of our collective patrimony into the pockets of public officers whose sworn responsibility it is to protect our nation’s treasury.”

The union said this might amount to hush money and outright bribery of the other arms of government to acquiesce the aberration.

“It is unconscionable that a government that has foisted so much hardship on the people within nearly two months of coming into office will make a proposal that clearly rewards the rich in public office to the detriment of the poor.

“What this means all this while is that the government is seeking ways of robbing the very poor Nigerians so that the rich can become richer. There is no other way to explain the proposal to pay a misery sum of N8,000 to each of the mysterious poorest 12 million households for six months which amounts to N48,000 and pay just 469 national legislators N70bn or about N149m each, while the Judiciary that has about 72 Appeal Court Judges, 33 National Industrial Court Judges, 75 Federal High Court Judges and 21 Supreme Court Judges and a total of about 201 Judges receives a total of N35bn or N174m each.

“If these other two arms are projected to receive this, what members of the executive council will receive is better left to the imagination of Nigerians; perhaps, the balance of N150bn will go to them. These proposals are not just unacceptable to Nigerian workers but are also dictatorial thus undemocratic,” the association stated.

It said the union would not want to waste the time of Nigerians especially workers on committees that had already been programmed to fail thus ignored.

“NLC would not want to continue to be part of the usual charade of committees with outcomes that are never implemented. We would not want to waste the time of Nigerians especially workers on committees that have already been programmed to fail thus ignored. We do not want to provide a cover for the government to get away with the hardship it has imposed on the people. We do not want to legitimise impunity,” it stated.

Speaking on the next line of action, the congress said, “As a result, if the government does not want to stop these fortuitous actions that it is pursuing in the name of palliatives, we will be forced to constructively review our engagement with the government on this vexatious issue and take matters in our own hands.”

Anger, frustration, and despondency were the situation yesterday, as Nigerians woke up to yet another steep increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol.

From Lagos, Ogun, and Edo in the South West and South-South to Niger, Borno and Zamfara in the north, it was all tales of woe by motorists and commuters.

While the price in Lagos shot up from N488 per litre at petrol stations owned by Nigeria National Petroleum Company, Limited, NNPL, to N568, it rose as high as N617 per litre in Abuja and another northern state from N540.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, blamed market forces for the increase, while the Borno State chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, expressed concern over the latest increment.

It noted that the living standards of the people would nosedive, especially with the government not providing the necessary palliatives to cushion the effects of subsidy removal.

While the Nigeria Employers Consultation Association, NECA, in its immediate reaction said local refining of crude oil remained the only way out for Nigeria, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, contended that the latest increase in the price of petrol would further impoverish the people.
Checks by Vanguard yesterday indicated that each operator is allowed to change price, based on its cost elements, under the present deregulation.

It also showed that the dwindling value of the naira has put pressure on fuel importers, including NNPC Limited, as well as major and independent marketers.

The National Operations Controller of IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, said: “It is not about the NNPC Limited, it is about the market fundamentals. Every marketer stands alone with its different cost elements.
‘’The low value of the naira is currently impacting the market., it is now more than N800 to a dollar. This is why the market is responding this way. It has to spread because as operators, our price depends on our cost.

“Even though some importers have been able to import the product, it cannot be cheap because it is based on the current market fundamentals, especially foreign exchange. The public should also know that importers source their foreign exchange from the banks at the current rate.’’

Students, commuters express frustration as fuel prices soar

Meanwhile, as marketers were adjusting their pumps to reflect the new price, students and commuters in Lagos expressed their grievances over yet another increase, as transport fares soared astronomically yesterday.

A student of Lagos State University, LASU, Ojo,said the transportation fare from her hostel to the school spiked from N100 to N200.

“Our exams are next week, and I wonder how the government expects us to cope. LASU does not have enough hostels, so most of us have to stay off-campus, which means we have to bear the burden of paying N400 for transportation to and fro.”

Similarly, tricycle taxi drivers, commonly known as “Keke” drivers, also shared their challenges due to the fuel price hike.

One of the riders lamented that the surge in fuel costs has forced many of his colleagues to park their vehicles.

He said, “Those of us who want to work can’t leave the bus stop unless our vehicles are filled with passengers. Before, we could still operate with fewer passengers, but not anymore.

‘’ Moreover, as we are grappling with the fuel price increase today, there are already talks about an imminent increase in the levies imposed on us.”

Besides, some commuters were seen heading back home early yesterday morning as the transportation costs exceeded their budget.

One of them voiced their frustration, saying “everything in the country is currently on the high side, but salaries remain stagnant.”

Long queues resurface in Ondo

The situation was not different in Ondo State, as long queues resurfaced in petrol stations across Akure and other towns in the state.

Many petrol stations that dispensed the product as of Monday evening, hurriedly shut their gates to motorists.

Filling stations across the state sold the product for between N650 and N700 per litre, as
motorists in Akure metropolis said the new increase was uncalled for and wicked.

Speaking with Vanguard, some of the motorists expressed worries over the unending hardship the present administration was inflicting on the masses.

A motorist, Sanni Akande, said there seemed no difference between the last administration and the new one.

“We thought things would get better after the horrible experience Nigerians went through under Muhammadu Buhari.

“But what has been happening since President Bola Tinubu took over has been devastating. It’s like he came to inflict more hardship on Nigerians.’’
He appealed to the government to consider the plight of the masses.

Fuel situation in Niger State

A similar situation played in Niger and other states in the North, as commuters resorted to trekking to their destinations.

Most of the filling stations which were hitherto dispensing fuel till early yesterday morning in Minna and other towns in the state morning shut their gates to all motorists.

At the NNPC Mega Station along bypass, Minna the state capital, the new price of N617 was been conspicuously displayed and the product sold at the new price.

Other few filling stations which dispensed the product at press time include Matrix at Kpakungu which sold for N617, Oando at City Gate Roundabout which also sold for N617 and Ashafa which sold the product for N620.

The spillover of the new price affected public transportation, with Okada and Keke NAPEP (Marwa) increasing their fares beyond the affordability of the average commuter..

The sudden change is now the subject of discussion in all parts of the state capital, Minna, with all condemning it as it has further made life unbearable for most Nigerians.

Market forces driving up petrol prices, NNPCL CEO, Kyari

Reacting to the price increase yesterday, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, blamed market forces for the hike.

Fielding questions from State House correspondents after having what he described as a public meeting with the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on the sudden increase of petroleum pump price, the NNPCL boss said: “I don’t have the details this moment. We have the marketing wing of our company. They adjust prices, depending on the market realities.

‘’This is really what is happening; this is the meaning of making sure the market regulates itself so that prices will go up and sometimes come down also. This is what we have seen and in reality, this is what the market works. “

Asked if the market forces he was talking about meant that the supply at the moment was not enough, he said: “There is no supply issue. When you go to the market, you buy the product; you come to the market you sell it at the prevailing market prices. Nothing to do with supply.

‘’We don’t have supply issues. There is a robust supply. We have over 32 days of supply in the country.”

On the assurances to Nigerians that the situation was being addressed, Kyari said: “Yes, what I know is that the market forces will regulate the market. Prices will go down sometimes; sometimes it will go up.

“But there will be stability of supply and I’m also assuring Nigerians that this is the best way to go forward, so we can adjust prices when market forces come to play.

“I don’t have the details at this moment, but I know that our marketing wing acts just like every other company in this business. I know that a number of companies have imported petroleum products today. So, many of them are on line.

“I’m sure my colleague would confirm this. Market forces have started to play; people have started having confidence in the market. Private sector people are importing products, but there is no way they can recover their cost if they cannot take market reflective cost.”

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, said the price increase stemmed from rising crude prices. c
He cited changes in freight prices alongside other ancillary costs importers incur during distribution.

Ahmed said: “So, when you say market forces are working, basically, what it is that you buy; you consider the price of crude going up.

“A couple of weeks ago, the price of crude was hovering around $70/barrel. Now it’s hovering around $80/barrel. So, the crude price also drives the product price.

‘’You know, because the importers are importing, they are basing it on the cost of importation plus the freight and other cost elements in terms of local distribution.

c “As a regulator, I told you back in May that we are not going to be setting prices. The market will determine itself and as you saw back in early June when prices came out, it was based on the cost of importation plus other logistics of distribution and, of course, the profit margin by the importer.

“This market is deregulated; it is open to all participants. As I mentioned also yesterday when I was in Lagos, we have about 56 marketing companies that applied and obtained licenses to import.

“Out of those, 10 of them have indicated to supply within the third quarter, which is July, August, September. Already, we received some cargoes from these markers: Prudent Energy, AYM Shafa and Emadeb.

“Emadeb Cargo is arriving tomorrow (today), so this is just an encouragement to see that the market is liberated and everyone is free to import, so long as you are working within the framework, especially in terms of quality.

“But to pricing, as a regulator, we are not going to put a cap on the price because we are not part of those importing. We are not a marketing company; we are just a regulator.”

IPMAN expresses concern over fresh increment in PMS pump price

But the chairman of the Borno State chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Alhaji Mohammed Kuluwu, expressed concern over the latest price increase.

He opined that, with this latest increase, Nigerians’ well-being and standard of living were being threatened by the government which had failed to provide the needed palliatives before removing the fuel subsidy

He also described the planned Federal Government’s N8,000 palliative to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy on 12 million Nigerian households as a failed policy.

Kuluwu said: “The jerk up of the price of PMS is ill-timed and anti-democratic, as Nigerians have not been finding it easy to cope with the economy after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu earlier in May this year announced the removal of fuel subsidy which shot the price of fuel increase from N187 per litre to about N500.

“Instead of the federal government waking up from its slumber and addressing the continual devaluation of the naira against the US Dollar, which now stands at over N800/$1, it is busy increasing the pump price of PMS. Unless our naira appreciates against the dollar, PMS prices will continue to rise.

“This is because, the dwindling value of the naira has put pressures on fuel importers, including the NNPC Limited, as well as major and independent marketers, forcing them to jerk up prices of the product in order to sustain their businesses.

“Although many importers have been able to import the product, it can never be cheap because it is based on current market prices, especially foreign exchange.’’

NLC rejects new pump price, says it’s provocative

Reacting to the development, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, rejected the new price regime, describing it as provocative and designed to worsen the poverty level and hardship Nigerians were going through.

NLC in a statement by the President, Joe Ajaero, said: “We woke up this morning (yesterday) to the news that NNPCL has increased the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, from the hitherto draconian N500/litre to N617, despite the suffering and hardship Nigerians have had to go through as a result of the original hike on May 29, 2023, as part of President Bola Tinubu’s inaugural gift to Nigerians.

‘’An 18 per cent increase in the price of PMS at this time of great difficulties for our people is sadistic and totally unacceptable. horrendous and smacks off a triumphalism by this government against the masses of this country. It looks like a feeling by those in government that the people have become a conquered people that they can treat anyhow without repercussions and this demonstrates why it has taken pleasure in inflicting more and more pain and sorrow on the people.

“We strongly condemn this latest unilateral increase and warn the government to desist from trying the patience of Nigerians. What the government has done is capable of pushing Nigerian people to the edge of the precipice and triggering a raging fire that may overwhelm whatsoever mechanisms the government thinks it has put in place as safeguards.

“It seriously looks like the government is consciously pushing the nation to the brink by this deliberate fanning of the embers of restiveness among the populace. There is no other way to understand what is going on but to assume that the drivers of this hike may be intentionally trying to set our nation on fire by courting or pushing the people to take to the streets in anger.

“If that is their intention, we are afraid that they are almost there and we are worried that this may endanger democracy and put our nation in peril. It is our responsibility to raise the alarm over what those who occupy the levers of power are doing to Nigerians and what the consequences may be.

“NLC is amazed that a government that pledged to allow the dictates of social dialogue to guide its actions and policies will turn around to undermine the same principles of social dialogue which demands that when conversations are undertaken over an issue, the parties stay the action and allow the status quo to be maintained. This is to allow for the process to run smoothly and unhindered.

“We, therefore, do not understand why the government that has initiated a social dialogue around the petroleum product price hike will turn around in the midst of the conversation to increase the price of the same product without recourse to the process already set in motion.

‘’We perceive that the government may not trust or has lost confidence in its intentions for setting up the Presidential Steering Committee and its five sub-committees. You cannot probate and approbate at the same time.

‘’It is either government makes up its mind and allows its own very process that it initiated work conclusively to its logical end or comes out clean and tells Nigerians that it never believed in the process.

“Once again, the action of the government is forcing us to constructively review our engagement with it on this vexatious, so-called petroleum subsidy withdrawal. We urge the government to quickly take steps to salvage the lives of Nigerians that are currently nudging towards the periphery of existence. ‘’The first step must be to return to the old price of N540, so that the people can breathe, then take further steps to allow the steering committee it set up to come up with frameworks and workable solutions to resolving the issues around the price hike.

‘’We shall as soon as possible work in concert with our sister labour centre and other civil society organisations to seek ways to assist government return to sane dialogue and reasonable actions for workers and people of Nigeria.

‘’Our organs would be called soon to deliberate on this one hike too many, so that necessary actions would be taken to defend the rights and privileges of Nigerian workers and masses.”

Local refining is way out — NECA

On its part, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, NECA, asked the Federal Government to concentrate efforts on local refining to address the increasing cost of imported refined petroleum products in the country.

Speaking at its 66th Annual General Meeting, AGM, in Lagos, the President of NECA, Mr Taiwo Adeniyi, urged the government to immediately review the current status of the four national refineries and establish modalities for privatization.

He said: “We aligned with the recent removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, PMS. The Association believes that subsidy is riddled with untold corrupt practices and has become cancerous to the economy.

‘’We hope that the removal of the subsidy would entrench competition in the marketing of PMS and facilitate stability in the pricing of PMS in the medium to long run.

“In this difficult situation, we note with concern the Federal Government’s proposed palliative loan to the tune of US$800 million. We are wary of the set of measures and actions government intends to take for the palliative implementation, with the aim of cushioning the impact of subsidy removal on Nigerians. “The last fuel subsidy removal palliative was implemented in Nigeria in 2012 when the government then announced a palliative of N161 billion.

The government had proposed palliatives such as a cash transfer programme, reduction of tax rates, mass transit buses and the creation of more jobs.

“However, the implementation was ineffective as it was marred by corruption and mismanagement.

Many Nigerians did not benefit from the palliative. Government should design and implement the current palliative to be representative of all vulnerable Nigerians across states of the federation and actually assuage the vagaries of the effect of the current high price of fuel in the country.’’

Our elders have a saying, to wit, that once hunger is removed from poverty, what is left is manageable. Another way of saying that is: Once hunger enters a stomach, nothing else can find its way there! Little wonder, then, that the Jamaican reggae superstar, Bob Nestar Marley, crooned that a hungry man is an angry man. Nigerians in their millions, thus, must be angry as we speak because there is hunger in the land. This must have been what informed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's declaration, last week, of a state of emergency over food shortages and rising cost of foodstuffs. As if arising from that or a fortuitous convergence of opinion, leaders of the agitation for Yoruba Nation released, same week, a plan of action for food security in Yoruba land in particular but which can have application in the country at large.

War theorists identify food security as the first form of security a nation desirous of being described as a great nation must have. Food, therefore, is an important weapon in war. We witnessed that at play during the Nigerian civil war of 1967 – 1970. We are also seeing it unfold in the ongoing Russia/Ukraine war. In the siege of Samaria as the bible records it, hunger was the weapon employed by the enemy in its effort to bring Samaria on its knees. So, a country cannot describe itself as being great if it lacks food security. Therefore, as the acclaimed giant of Africa, Nigeria cannot but be a giant with the feet of clay if it cannot feed itself. Scripture says in the multitude of counsel, there is safety; so we shall be running through the suggestions offered by the Yoruba Nation, especially as it is steeped in the highly successful agricultural and rural development programme of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

Titled “ILETO CONCEPT: RE-INVENTING THE AWOLOWO ERA AGRICULTURE IN YORUBA NATION”, snippets of it run thus: “Agriculture was the mainstay of the economy of Western Region because the AWOLOWO administration focused on its potentials. These potentials are still there today and they can be brought back to drive the economy of YORUBA NATION. All we need is to focus on agriculture and the potentials will be realized. ILETO as a rebranding of the AWOLOWO era FARM SETTLEMENT can provide solutions to the several problems of YORUBA NATION today. ILETO can solve the problems of youth unemployment, food and Community security. It can give us good foreign exchange and reduce the parity between the dollar and the naira.

ILETO is the small community of old where everyone knows the other, a small community of farmers. The ILETO farm community is of youths of farming age engaged in various farming activities from crop to livestock to simple marketing of inputs, commodities, etc. The Fulani herdsmen invasion of farm lands in Yoruba Nation has spurred a new thinking on farming activities in the Yoruba nation. In the last two years many communities have reported the invasion of their farmlands and entire community, kidnapping and raping as well. These Fulani herdsmen activities have devastated many communities, dislocated their ways of life and have led to the abandonment of not just their farmlands but also the entire community. The brutality, killings and raping did not spare any group of people; it affects men, women and children, leading to mass displacement and refugees.

One significant consequence of these brutality and mindlessness is its effect on food security, first in the immediate communities but will spread to other major cities of the nation. Ordinarily, the nation was far from food security but the current activities of the Fulani herdsmen have brought to the fore the fragile food situation attendant on the sacking of farming communities in the Yoruba nation. In the circumstance, therefore, in addition to threat to food security there is the threat to life and property occasioned by the murderous Fulani herdsmen activities. It is imperative, therefore, to develop an alternate approach to farming that will also protect the farmers from the murderous adventures of Fulani herdsmen, bandits and terrorists.

This proposal set out to develop and define an alternative to the current farming system that has the potential to address food security in the nation while providing some level of self protection from the criminal, marauding Fulani herdsmen. An ILETO of 25 to 30 young men and women (ages 20 to 30) farmers is proposed. At least one ILETO will be sited around a major urban town in the Yoruba Nation. An ILETO must have a minimum of one hundred and fifty hectares (150 ha of land (MINI ILETO) or 300 ha (STANDARD ILETO) that is contiguous. It is estimated that 5 ha or 10 ha will be available for each participant for agricultural activities and an additional 10 ha available for a settlement where residential accommodation will be sited. Each participant will own 5 ha (MINI ILETO) or 10 ha (STANDARD ILETO) that will be devoted to agricultural practices, ranging from crop production to livestock husbandry.

A combination of crop and animal production on a 5 ha or 10 ha of land should be able to sustain a modest family if actively cultivated. Also, it is expected that even at current level of urbanization, major towns in the Yoruba nation should be able to provide 150 ha or 300 ha of contiguous farm land for this novel scheme for MINI or STANDARD ILETO respectively, to meet the imperatives of food production demand and community security. Each settlement shall be known as ILETO, the historic name of small Yoruba farm settlements which may choose to give itself the name of a feature that is important in its area or important personality; and shall consist of farmers. The choice of 30 as minimum is to ensure that the Ileto shall be strong enough to protect itself. A new farming community with the ability to provide security for its people and its produce is being proposed”.

Space constraint will not let us run the full gamut of the proposal on ILETO but those charged with the implementation of the food emergency declared by the president can reach out for the proposal and digest it. It seeks to address food insecurity, engage our unemployed youths, and help diversify the economy to earn more foreign exchange. I must add that the states and local governments must lead this food emergency from the frontline rather than see it as a Federal Government project per se. In the South-west especially, it is unfortunate that while decades of military rule killed Awo’s laudable agricultural and rural development programmes, successive civilian administrations in the region have done nothing to revive or resuscitate them. The time has come to begin to hold the feet of our state governors and local government chairmen to the fire, especially in the Southwest which, I dare to say, is one of the most poorly goverened parts of the country today.

FEEDBACK

RE: TINUBU: Time o listen to ASUU

Good piece, sir, however, it ignores the fact that Nigeria is a federation with education on the concurrent list that involves the participation and cooperation of both federal and state governments in particular. My observation is that our focus is much more on the federal government than the state governments, most of which are so laid back that they do virtually nothing where concurrent policy issues are concerned. Pray, what roles should state governments play under the Students loans Act? Are the requirements for student loan under the Act applicable at the state level? Does the scheme apply to only federal education institutions?, etc, etc. When I look at how most state governments frustrate the minimum wage Act, I shudder at the crises the Students Loan Act may cause when it becomes operational. Thanks for your usual activism in raising the bar of public opinion moulding! - Dipo Onabanjo.

Good piece sir but you missed a lot of points. I'm the National Secretary of CONUA so you can know from which perspective I am making my comments. Many of us in the universities see things differently from your exposition. Who is the owner of the universities? Who has the right to dictate the pace of governance in the universities? What are the functions of the unions? ASUU has mixed everything up to the extent that the union has taken over the functions of university councils. How can a union embark on strike while demanding for funding? This should be the duty of the councils appointed by the government to oversee the universities. ASUU left member's welfare to pursue a goal that is clearly beyond its mandate. Is this not what we call a meddlesome interloper? What is the position of the trade union Act on strikes? Does ASUU, a group of intellectuals abide by laws on strike? CONUA and NAMDA are testimonies to the rot that ASUU has brought to our universities and we are determined to do things differently. Asking us to go home is like asking the Israelites to return to Egypt. We have seen enough shenanigans of AAUU and enough is enough. We cannot continue to join hands with those who don't care if University education in Nigeria is destroyed. For any government to work with ASUU successfully, the government needs the labour law not emotion to deal with the situation. - Oripeloye Henri.

Nice piece! I hope the new administration does the needful in line with your practical propositions. Our universities are in dire need of assistance for urgent rejuvenation. A lot of ground has been lost. Thank you always for your incisive analysis of matters of public interest. - Abiodun Yacoob.

Former Editor of PUNCH newspapers, Chairman of its Editorial Board and Deputy Editor-in-chief, BOLAWOLE was also the Managing Director/ Editor-in-chief of THE WESTERNER newsmagazine. He writes the ON THE LORD'S DAY column in the Sunday Tribune and TREASURES column in New Telegraph newspaper on Wednesdays. He is also a public affairs analyst on radio and television.

As President Tinubu Set To Appoint Kyari Minister

Following the resignation of Adamu Abdullahi and Iyiola Omisore as the National Chairman and National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), respectively, political bigwigs have begun moves to replace them.

Recall that Abubakar Kyari, the party’s Deputy Chairman (North), has taken over as the Acting National Chairman until a new party head is elected at a yet-to-be-fixed Convention.

Speaking to The PUNCH, a source disclosed that several names, which include former governors and heavyweights in the North-Central and South-West, are currently being considered to replace both Adamu and Omisore.

Speaking on a possible replacement for the post of substantive national chairman, the source fingered former governor of Nasarawa State, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura; former governor of Niger State, Abu Lolo; former Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Silas Ali Agara, and a former governor of Plateau State.

He, however, expressed strong conviction that Lolo may not be given the opportunity because he lacked the capacity to ‘properly manage people.’

The source said: “Where the real problem lies is in who replaces Omisore as substantive national secretary. There is the general notion that Isaac Kekemeke should be allowed to occupy the position. There is also that urgent need to pick somebody from Osun to strengthen the state and rally the APC supporters after the last disastrous election where we lost virtually all the elective seats. But the question is, who? Aside from former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, Osun currently has no heavyweights outside the camp of the rebellious Aregbesola’s faction.”

He stated that Kyari, who is reportedly set to be named a minister by President Bola Tinubu, may pose a challenge to the ruling APC.

“But I must say the focus of the NWC at the moment are NEC, reuniting party members, and fine-tuning the audit report. That is the focus for now. I am sure after the NEC, fixing the National Convention shouldn’t go beyond October. The real challenge I think we have now is if Kyari, who is expected to be announced as a minister soon, will be made to stay the course till a substantive national chairman emerges or resign his position immediately.

“I understand the National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, is also coming back to the country from London today. I believe you are aware he travelled two weeks ago for his daughter’s graduation and seized the opportunity to stay off the radar. Quite a lot of people have been bombing us with calls on why he stayed back when the national headquarters of the party is on fire.

“But again, you can’t blame him that much. Haven’t you been wondering why Omisore has been the one signing press statements and making announcements in the last one month? That’s the level we have sunk as a party,” the source stated.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as mischievous and intentionally misleading a social media post which claimed that the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, allegedly informed President Bola Tinubu to prepare for a rerun election.

The report shared by Strategic Communication expert Jackson Ude also alleged that the CJN’s private phone conversations with Tinubu, the Director-General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, and two other Justices of the Supreme Court had been leaked to United States authorities.

The post added that the leakage of the conversations has resulted in two additional apex court justices being banned from entering the United States.

Reacting in a statement on Tuesday night, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, said Ude fabricated a falsehood on a matter of serious national importance that is actively under review by the Presidential Election Petitions Court

Morka said President Tinubu and the APC won the February 25, 2023, Presidential election without a doubt, and do not have any need to engage in side conversations with the CJN regarding pending petitions before the PEPC.

He, therefore, expressed confidence that Nigerians are smarter and more discerning than to be affected by this opposition brand of tasteless and crass mercenary expedition.