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Hike in petrol price: We’re not living, but merely surviving, Nigerians cry out
Nigerians have continued reeling under the effect of the recent hike in the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which has spread poverty and hardship to its nooks and crannies, with residents of Lagos State calling on the Federal Government to urgently implement adequate palliative measures to alleviate the present high cost of living they are experiencing.
Reports in New Express, quoting the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), records the lamentations of citizens arising from the situation which has worsened since President Bola Tinubu, announced in his inauguration speech on May 29, the complete removal of subsidy on the product which saw the cost jumping from N195 per litre to N537 in a matter of hours.
Regardless of the sudden ripple effects including hike in transport fares and the prices of essential goods and services, which skyrocketed throughout the country, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company, Ltd. (NNPL), last penultimate Wednesday, announced a further increase of prices from N500 per litre to N617 per litre at its own petrol stations.
Bemoaning the situation, residents said the situation had led to rising cost of transport, essential commodities, and steep increase in utility bills, noting that it had left many struggling to make ends meet and the only way to survive was quick intervention by government.
Makinde Akinlemibola, Chairman, Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP), who lamented the situation said that medical professionals are feeling the weight of the high cost of living, having no choice but to increase their consultation fee, adding that the hike had affected the cost of running the hospitals, from fueling the generators to huge electricity bills.
Stating that the situation had made it difficult for private facilities to increase the salaries of their workers, he however, urged employers to consider an increment to help them cope with the hike in transport fares and other commodities.
“The only way forward is to increase our consultation fees to meet up with the cost of running the hospital. It is from the consultation fee that we get the salary for staff and run the facilities. We cannot afford to alternate days like some government offices because we are essential workers and we don’t know when emergencies will occur,” he said.
Solomon Odewale, a young man who embarked on an entrepreneurial journey two years ago, said he now had to take up an additional job, adding: “I started as an entrepreneur two years ago but right now, I can’t meet up with the cost of running my business and my personal needs.
“I had to take up an administrative job for someone else, alongside running my own business and it’s challenging. Balancing both responsibilities is tearing me apart, making it difficult for me to focus on my own business,” he said.
Stressing how he made cutbacks in various aspects, he said: “For instance, I now limit the usage of my generator to pump water as I can’t afford to run it for extended periods.
“This situation is negatively impacting entrepreneurs in general. The cost of production for what used to be N1,000 has skyrocketed to over N5,000, leading to a much lower profit margin.”
Stanley Samuel, a civil engineer, who said he had to devise strategies to reduce various expenses, explained how he decided to cut back on driving his car to work every day and opted for public transport instead, stating: “As a responsible family man, I prioritise planning and focus on fulfilling the essential needs of my family while disregarding unnecessary wants.”
Nwanne Happiness, who recently secured a job with a salary, said she began producing and supplying chin-chin and egg rolls to supermarkets, adding: “Going to work used to cost me N200 Naira to and fro but now it is N600.
“Recently, I tried renting a room self-contained, I was shocked when they said it was N400,000. This used to cost about N80,000 to N100,000. So, this high cost of living is affecting me in all areas.”
Tochukkwu Samuel, on his part, said he now had to buy things in bulk from the market which had helped him save more, adding: “I have also cut unnecessary outings and going to beer parlour. I only buy what I need now; there is no room for waste anymore.”
According to the latest Consumer Price Index report released by the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s inflation rate increased to 22.79 per cent, surpassing the previous figure of 22.41 percent recorded in May.
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
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