Civil society organizations in Rivers State have issued 14 days ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and security agencies to solve the fuel price hike in the state or face an entire-blown protest.

Chairman of CSOs in Rivers State, Mr. Enefaa Georgewill, issued the ultimatum in Port Harcourt while explaining why the CSOs shelved the planned mass protest in the city Wednesday.

He said It was because of the intervention of security agencies, particularly the Department of State Services.

George will said that the DSS has assured that they were working with NNPCL to restore normalcy, warning that if after two weeks, “fuel price does not revert to official price of N165 per litre, there will be a mother of all protest and we will not listen to anybody.

“What is happening here is a warning protest to NNPC to stop suffocating and punishing Rivers people by allowing petrol marketers to sell fuel above the government-approved pump price.

“Since yesterday, security agencies have been on our neck that we shouldn’t carry out this protest. Protest is a part of our democracy, and the citizens must freely express themselves through protest. What security agencies need to do is provide security for protesters.

“Therefore, we are giving the DSS two weeks to call on NNPCL to resolve the fuel crisis in Rivers State and ensure that fuel is sold at the approved pump price of N165 per litre.

“Failure to do that in two weeks, we are going to carryout out a mass protest because we cannot continue with the job loss. We cannot shut down our businesses because this country lacks electricity due to fuel scarcity," he said.

Also speaking, the Public Relations Officer of CSOs in Rivers State, Mr. Solomon Lenu, wondered why Rivers State Governor Wike has been silent as the people groan in pain about the fuel price hike.

“Nigeria is using N4.3 trillion to subsidize fuel that we don’t have; NNPC said we are consuming 60 million litres of fuel per day. This is a product solely imported into the country by NNPC, and the President, the Minister of Petroleum, is not saying anything about the situation.

“The governor, who is a very vocal person, who when he speaks, the country stands at attention, is not saying anything about it because they don’t feel the same problem the ordinary people are feeling. So we are saying enough is enough, he explained.

For his part, a lawyer and resident of Rivers State, Barr. Iniayemana Jonahs said the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Act stipulates that when there is an issue in prices, the people must be adequately informed.

“The government making us buy fuel at N300 is unacceptable. The arbitrary price increase violates the provisions of the PPPRA Act because the Act states that where there are issues on petroleum prices, the people must be informed and also sufficient notice must be given," he explained.(Nigerian Tribune)

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