Northern Youths Threaten Nationwide Protest over Fuel Scarcity

Seriki Adinoyi in Jos

The Arewa Youth Alliance for Development (AYAD) has called for the dissolution of the managements of the Nigeria National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) and Nigerian Midstream and  Downstream Petroleum Regulatory (NMDPR) over the protracted scarcity of fuel bedevilling the country.

It has also given a seven-day ultimatum to the federal government to resolve the fuel crisis or face a nationwide protest.

In a press statement signed by the leader of the group, Mock Samuel Kure, the youths observed that the disruption in the supply chain has also caused sudden inflation in cost of transportation, leading to increase in the prices of daily consumables.

“We had waited patiently for the  National Assembly and NNPC to make public its report on the hearing regarding the cause of the importation of the bad fuel to no avail. It seems to be taking forever. We have every reason to believe that some sacred cows are the elements that have thrown Nigerians into this needless hardship,” it said.

AYAD also decried the current cost of petrol, which now goes for N250 to N300 per litre, saying that government is yet to remove subsidy on petrol, hence, the price ought to still remain N165.

According to the group, “The fact that fuel is sold openly at this exorbitantly price without any form of resistance makes suspect that the illicit profit most of the independent oil marketers are making is being shared between them and some staff of NMDPRA.

“We therefore call on the acting President Yemi Osinbajo to summon the type of courage he deployed when he removed the erstwhile DG of the DSS, Lawal Daura, to deploy same in sacking Mele Kyari, the CEO of NNPC Ltd and Farouk Ahmed, the CEO of NMDPRA, for negligence of duty and national sabotage.”

The group also called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) to crack down on filling stations selling petroleum products above the national bench mark, saying: “We adjudge their activities to be worse than ‘yahoo yahoo’. Nigerians will be glad to see some of them being paraded for exploitation and national sabotage.”