#EndBadGovernance Movement pushes for protest against petrol price hike  

The Organizing Committee of the #EndBadGovernance Movement in Lagos is pushing for mass protest against President Bola Tinubu’s administration over its latest petrol price increment.

BAR & BENCH WATCH reports that the latest hike is the fourth since Tinubu became president some 16 months ago.

A statement signed by the members of the organising committee of the #EndBadGovernance Movement described the latest increase in petrol price as provocative, vexatious, and a further slap on the faces of poor and struggling Nigerians.

The statement signed by Hassan Taiwo Soweto, Osugba Blessing and Oloye Adegboyega-Adeniji on behalf of the organising committee say increasing petrol price to between N998 in Lagos and N1, 030 per litre in Abuja and other parts of the country would further worsen the economic situation of Nigerians.

According to them, “This latest increase is the second of such in a month, and it is bound to drive the Nigerian people, including workers, youth, artisans, traders and the mass of the people, into a worse state of starvation and hardship.

“We hereby demand an immediate and unconditional reversal of the hike, as well as the return of petrol price, electricity tariffs and food prices to pre-May 29, 2023 levels.”

The statement continues: “As far as we are concerned, this development is a clear indication that President Tinubu is neither prepared for dialogue nor is he ready to reduce the burden of hunger and excruciating hardship that hapless Nigerians have been bearing since last year when he came to power.

“To this extent, we call on the Nigerian people to rise in their millions to begin to confront this government with protests and demonstrations until the criminal hike, along with other anti-poor policies, are reversed.

“Without our readiness to fight, it is crystal clear that this regime is hell-bent on driving all of us into a state of starvation.

“We hereby urge all pro-people civil society organisations, NGOs, youth groups, students’ unions, socialist organisations and community associations to begin to meet to discuss how to respond to this latest onslaught.

“We also call on the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to immediately call a 48-hour general strike and mass protest.

“That this increase is coming at a time when the Dangote refinery has become fully operational has exposed the lie that the government told last year to justify the policy of fuel subsidy removal.

“At that time, the Tinubu government said once Dangote refinery began to produce petroleum products, the price would crash.

“Now, the opposite is what we see today. This clearly demonstrates that privatization, deregulation, and other neo-liberal capitalist policies do not offer solutions to the economic crisis facing Nigeria.

“We hereby demand reversal of the policies of privatization, deregulation, and all neo-liberal and anti-poor capitalist policies.

“We also note that the unrelenting onslaught on the Nigerian people by President Tinubu shows why the struggle to #Endbadgovernance in Nigeria must continue, and hereby urge Nigerian youth, workers and the poor masses to join the growing movement to end bad governance in Nigeria.”