Youth Leaders Plan Protest against NNPCL over Fuel Price Hike

Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) would soon have Nigerian youths to contend with following their simmering anger over the “indiscriminate fuel price hike”.

The youths under the aegis of the Coalition of Nigerian Youth Leaders (CONYL) said that they would soon express their anger with a protest, directed specifically at both NNPCL and oil cabals that are making life miserable for Nigerians.

The youth leaders expressed their anger and frustration in a statement signed by the officials of CONYL, including President General, Goodluck Ibem; Secretary General, Junaid Abubakar; Publicity Secretary, Adeyemo Adewale and Director of Mobilisation, Iniobong Sampson.

In the statement made available to the media yesterday in Umuahia, the group which describes itself as “the umbrella body of all the youth groups drawn across the six geopolitical zones,” declared that “Nigerian youths are angry.”

It said that “the indiscriminate hike of fuel price to (upwards of) N1300 per litre was alarming,” adding that in addition, prices of other petroleum products have also been hike thereby fueling the pervasive hardship in Nigeria.

CONYL said that by their actions both the NNPCL and the cabals “are working against President Bola Tinubu” as the hike in fuel price has negated all efforts being made by the Tinubu administration to ease the suffering of the masses.

“The increase in the price of petroleum products, most especially the price of fuel, has brought hardship to Nigerians as the increment has resulted to increase in transportation cost, increase in prices of food, and increase in prices of every goods and services in the country.

“The price of one egg is now N250 as against N50 one year ago, reason for the increase is high cost of fuel. Transportation from Lagos to Abia State is now N25,000 as against N8000 as of last year.”

According to CONYL, “the oil cabal in the oil sector is working assiduously to make President Tinubu’s administration look as if it is not performing,” adding that “their plan is dead on arrival.

“President Tinubu means well for Nigerians but the activities of the oil cabal and NNPCL is frustrating the effort of the president in making life better for Nigerians.

“We the Nigerian youths has concluded arrangement and plans to stage a 2 million man protest march against NNPCL in front of their premises and we will not stop until the entire leadership of the NNPCL is removed for more competent persons to take over for the good of the nation,” the group said.

While no date has been fixed for the planned protest, CONYL insisted that “this protest march is pertinent and mandatory for the survival of Nigeria and Nigerians given the great importance of the oil sector to the growth and development of our nation.”

It said that all organs of the youth groups across the nation would be informed once the state and time of the protest is concluded.

“We cannot let a few take us for a ride hence the urgent need to take our country back from them,” the group warned.