Written by Olusola Fabiyi, Abuja
Alhaji Kawu BarajeFileThe Peoples Democratic Party has said though the removal of fuel subsidy will be painful for Nigerians, there is no alternative to it.
The Acting National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Kawu Baraje, said in Abuja on Thursday that the removal of the subsidy was the only way to revamp the economy.
But the All Nigerian Peoples Party and the Congress for Progressive Change said the action was meant to punish the masses.
They said if the ruling party was sincere, the PDP should have told the electorate during the campaign preceeding the last general elections.
The PDP, however, said while it was not against the public debate either for or against the proposed subsidy removal, it however condemned the opposition who it said was using it to advance its “warped and unrealistic arguments, using populist sentiments to misinform the people.”
It said as the custodians of the peoples’ mandate and the resource base of the ideas that inform government policies, the party owed it a duty to Nigerians to break its silence on the matter.
It said Nigerians were aware that the Federal Government was deeply committed to tackling decaying infrastructure, provision of jobs to the youth, stimulation of investments in critical sectors and provision of security.
Baraje said, “They want their roads safe and motorable; they want quality education for their children; they want to see affordable and efficient health care delivery systems; they want security of lives and property; they also want a guaranteed supply of petroleum products at affordable cost.
“These are achievable only if resources are harnessed to finance these major developmental programmes.
While declaring support for the Federal Government’s determination to deregulate the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, Baraje said the PDP was also encouraged by President Goodluck Jonathan decision to constitute a committee of reputable Nigerians to advise on the management of the income accruable from the removal of subsidy.
But the ANPP said the proposed removal of oil subsidy would make life harder for Nigerians.
The Chairman of the party, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, who said this in an interview with our correspondent in Abuja, said it was sad that Jonathan did not tell Nigerians the kind of treatment he was going to give them when he was campaigning for office early in the year.
He said the plight of Nigerians would be further worsened with the National Electricity Regulatory Commission’s decision to increase tariff in 2012.
The National Publicity Secretary of the CPC, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin said, “People have spoken and are still speaking against the proposed evil action by the government. But the party and the government are not listening.
“It shows that the PDP was never voted into power. This is the reason they are ignoring people’s cry. Let them go ahead. We will see if Nigerians will accept it. Time will tell if power actually comes from the people or not.”
SOURCE: Punch Newspaper, 4 November 2011. http://punchontheweb.com
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