TheCable

Accountable Leadership for Better Nigeria Initiative (ALBNI), a newly registered civil society group, says any plan to hike the price of petroleum products is “absurd” and should be “quashed”.

The group said this in a statement jointly issued by Ogochukwu Paul, its director of media and communication, and signed by Remi Adebayo, president.

“Our position on the planned fuel increment by the federal government is that we find it absurd, inhuman and callous and as such strongly resist and reject any attempt to increase the liter of fuel pump price even by one naira,” the statement read.

ALBNI expressed worry that “lack of clarity on the real cause of the lingering petrol scarcity could lead to instability in fuel prices which will take its toll on Nigerians”.

The group urged government to follow through on promises to build new refineries and revamp the existing ones with the aim to privatise them.

“Does the federal government realise that majority of Nigerians still grapple hard with buying a liter of fuel at N145 resulting from the impact of the recession from which the nation is just recovering?” the statement read.

“The refineries we have should be repaired and adequately maintained to function at optimal capacity to meet local demands instead of continued shameful import of the same products derived from our territory.

“If the federal government finds it difficult maintaining our refineries, they should be sold out and privatised to individuals on merit and capabilities.

“This way, as a private commodity, owned by individuals, the refineries would be effective and efficient as their owners would ensure maintenance.”

The group also condemned the recent spate of killings in Benue, Rivers, Kaduna and Borno states, saying such violence spells doom for Nigeria, especially with the 2019 election around the corner.

It called on security agencies to fulfill their mandate by bringing the culprits to book and preventing future recurrences.