A coalition of civil society groups, on Friday, threatened to mobilise Nigerians to protest on the streets if the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association increased fuel pump price to N700 per litre.
The coalition made up of all civil society organisations across the country, made this threat in reaction to IPMAN’s planned increment of fuel pump price from the government-approved N538 per litre to N700.
It described the alleged plan by IPMAN as pure mischief and sabotage at a period Nigerians were trying to get over the “price shock” resulting from the increment on May 29, 2023.
The CSOs further warned that filling stations that sell fuel above the government-approved price would be picketed.
The Convener of the coalition, Dr Basil Yelwa Musa, the Co-Convener, Malam Haruna Maigida and Ayo Temi Adebayo, among others, in a This was contained in a joint statement on behalf of the group, warned that it would mobilise its members and other stakeholders across the 36 states of the Federation to embark on a protest beginning on Monday, July 3, 2023.
The coalition, consisting of Oil and Gas Transparency and Advocacy Group, Civil Society Coalition for Economic Development, Centre for Citizens Rights, Centre for Good Governance Advocacy, and Action Against Corruption in Nigeria, among others, urged the government to call IPMAN to order.
It noted that Nigerians are already watching and wallowing in difficulty over the recently adjusted fuel pump price with no palliative measures yet.
It insisted that IPMAN lacked the statutory power to adjust fuel pump prices, warning that any such move would be resisted at all costs.
Their statement read, “If government derelicts in cautioning the IPMAN, we see it as a deliberate collusion to drive Nigerians into unmitigated difficulties, and as CSOs, we will not sit and watch that happen. We will mobilise Nigerians for a street protest, and that should be taken from us.
“We watch the removal of fuel subsidy regime by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in his inaugural address on May 29, 2023, and we take the dire consequences as part of the sacrifice awaiting when government would have settled to come up with ameliorative measures for the citizens, but IPMAN’s decision to adjust fuel pump price will stoke protests because it isn’t in the interest of Nigerians.”
The coalition argued that if the proposed increase in pump price is actualised, it would amount to over 451% above what Tinubu’s administration met.
It also accused IPMAN of being behind the mysterious drop in petrol consumption from 66 million litres per day to 40 million after the removal of fuel subsidy.
The coalition advised IPMAN to brace for a change, as sharp practices in the downstream sector can no longer be tolerated.