…Cautioned against police brutality on peaceful protesters
From: Joseph Okwuofu, Ibadan.
A Chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party, (NNPP), Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo has expressed concern over the recent report of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Product Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which stated that daily petrol consumption has crashes by 92 percent.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene by reverting the current prices of Petroleum products to old prices, saying the current prices have made many Nigerians to abandon their vehicles.
Ajadi made the plea on Thursday while reacting to the report that daily petrol consumption has crashes by 92 percent under President Tinubu as a result of hike in price.
It could recalled that a report revealed that daily consumption of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) or petrol in Nigeria has dropped drastically under one year after President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023.
Data obtained from the latest report of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Product Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) Daily Truck Out Report for September 2024, showed that consumption as of August 20, 2024, was 4.5 million litres per day as against daily petrol consumption as of May 2023 of 60, 000 million litres per day.
An estimation brings daily consumption down by 92 percent after May 29, 2023.
Ajadi called the attention of the Federal government to the current situation and urged the government not to turn Nigerians to ridicule as they could no longer buy petrol into their vehicles again despite the fact that Nigeria has abundance of crude oil.
He, however appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led government to call NNPC to order and immediately reverts to the old price in order not to aggravate the suffering of the masses.
The NNPC Ltd has increased petrol price to N1,025 per litre at various outlets across the country from its old price of N865 recently.
Ambassador Ajadi in the statement said the recent action of the NNPC is very insensitive to Nigerians’ plights, noting that the increment of the price by the NNPC had further aggravated the suffering Nigerians are currently undergoing.
Ambassador Ajadi, who was the governorship candidate of the NNPP in Ogun state in the 2023 elections believe the action of the NNPC has been suffocating Nigerians.
Also speaking on the fourth anniversary of the Endsars protest, the NNPP chieftain counselled the federal government to refrain from stifling peaceful protest, adding that the use of police brutality on peaceful protesters is unnecessary.
He further advised the federal and state governments to realise that peaceful rally and protest are allowed and necessary under democratic rule.
Ajadi who was reacting to reports of Police dispersing the protesters at Lekki Lagos on Sunday as part of marking fourth year anniversary of #endsars said the federal government should caution the Nigerian Police that peaceful rally or protest is an essential feature of democratic rule.
It could be recalled that there were reports that officers of the Lagos State Police Command fired teargas to disperse protesters rallying to mark the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protest last Sunday.
Though the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, stated that there was no confrontation, but the Police had to disperse the protesters to prevent traffic disruption at the Lekki Toll Gate.
