The latest outrageous hike in the pump price of fuel has been condemned as toxic, despicable and absolutely intolerable.

A civil rights group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) which made the condemnation on Tuesday, also predicted that Nigerians may soon start eating grasses as edible due to economic hardship if they do not publicly protest peacefully and demand immediate halt to “this heartless incessant hike in price of petrol.”

The price of Petrol has increased to about N617 per litre, according to HURIWA in a statement by the National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko.

HURIWA said that its visit to an NNPC filling station in the Central Area of Abuja confirmed that the fuel price has now been adjusted from N539 to N617 per litre, even as another Customer who confirmed this development, simply said “It is true, I just bought at N617 per liter.”

The group asserted that the immediate reason could not be ascertained but it was not unconnected with the recent projections by oil marketers that fuel price would hit N700 per litre soon.

Besides, the media reports that the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NDMPRA) was yet to officially inform Nigerians about this unwarranted imposition of hardship.

HURIWA stated that unless and until Nigerians become active citizens and embrace the constitutional challenge by peacefully protesting on the streets of Nigerian cities and townships against these sets of harsh economic policies which offends a plethora of fundamental rights provisions enshrined in the Constitution of Nigeria, things would not change for the better.

HURIWA also accused President Ahmed Bola Tinubu of violating section 15 (5) which provides thus: “The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power”. And 16 (2) which states that: “The State shall direct its policy towards ensuring: (a) the promotion of a planned and balanced economic development;

(b)that the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good;

(c)that the economic system is not operated in such a manner as to permit the concentration of wealth or the means of production and exchange in the hands of few individuals or of a group;...”.

The statement further read: “The silence of Nigerians in the face of cocktails of toxic and elitist economic measures by the newly inaugurated President Ahmed Bola Tinubu will inevitably lead the masses to ‘economic Golgotha’ meaning that the next best meals Nigerians will resort to so as to survive the devastating and excruciating absolute poverty is to eat grass like goats or cows.

“HURIWA Condemns the current administration for continuously inflicting economic hardships on Nigerians through many thoughtless and anti-poor policies whereas the salaries of public office holders have been reviewed upwards and the National Assembly has just been allocated N110 Billion as palliatives to cushion the effects of the withdrawal of fuel subsidy whereas over 130 million multi-dimensionally poor Nigerian households are abandoned to a cruel fate of constant upward reviews of the pump price of fuel which inevitably affects the costs of foodstuffs and leads to spiraling inflationary trends.”

HURIWA, quoting official government reports, stated that the rise in inflation comes amid soaring food prices occasioned by the removal of subsidy on petrol.

Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 22.79% in June from the 22.41% recorded in May 2023. This is according to the latest CPI report released by the National Bureau of Statistic (NBS) on Monday. The CPI measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services. “In June 2023, the headline inflation rate rose to 22.79% relative to May 2023 headline inflation rate which was 22.41%. Looking at the movement, the June 2023 Headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.38% points when compared to May 2023 headline inflation rate,” the Bureau stated. The report also showed that food inflation spiked to 25.25% on a year-on-year basis which is higher than the 20.60% recorded in June 2022.

For the month under review, food prices rose to 2.40%, which is 0.21% points higher compared to the rate recorded in May 2023. The year-on-year basis rate showed a 4.19% higher compared to the 18.60% rate recorded in June 2022. “On a year-on-year basis, the Headline inflation rate was 4.19% points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2022, which was 18.60%. This shows that the Headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in June 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., June 2022).”

HURIWA has therefore urged Nigerians to rise up in unison and reject the attempts by President Tinubu to push them into the eventual consumption of grass just like irrational animals in the wild bushes.

HURIWA said the plea by President Tinubu that Nigerians should exercise patience in the face of the avalanches of extremely toxic and painful economic policies of the government does not make any rational and believable sense because the consequences is that hundreds of thousands of Nigerians may die due to these economic problems unleashed on the masses by the current administration.