N1,470/Litre: ADC Warns Tinubu Over Petrol Price

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the rising price of petrol, which it said has reached as high as N1,470 per litre in some locations, is worsening the economic hardship facing Nigerians.

The party said the rising cost of petrol was having a direct impact on the prices of food, transportation, electricity, education and other essential goods and services, warning that Nigerians were being pushed “dangerously close to the limits of human endurance.”

In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the increase in school fees by private schools was another indication of the pressure being faced by households across the country.

The party said reports of private schools raising fees by between 30 and 40 per cent had placed additional burdens on parents whose incomes, it noted, had not increased by a similar margin.

“Parents are not earning 40 per cent more. Their salaries have not risen with the prices of fuel, food, rent, transportation, and school fees,” the party said.

According to the ADC, the increase in the cost of living was affecting not only households but also businesses and school proprietors, who it said were contending with higher taxes, electricity bills, fuel costs, rents and salaries.

It said the situation had created a difficult environment in which parents, workers and businesses were all struggling to cope with rising costs.

The party further criticised the federal government’s economic policies, arguing that reforms should not result in greater hardship for citizens.

It said, “A reform that continuously makes the people poorer is not working. An economic policy that produces impressive figures at government briefings but hunger in Nigerian homes is a failure.”

The ADC also alleged that some families were being forced to make difficult choices between feeding their children, paying school fees and accessing medical treatment, while some businesses were struggling to remain operational.

The opposition party said the government should not continue to demand sacrifices from ordinary Nigerians while public officials, according to it, continued to maintain expensive lifestyles.

The ADC also linked the current economic situation to the 2027 general election, saying Nigerians would have an opportunity to decide whether to retain the policies of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration or support the alternative being proposed by the ADC and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

The party reiterated Atiku’s commitment to reducing the cost of petrol through the reintroduction of subsidy, saying the measure would support domestic fuel production and help reduce the cost of food, transportation and production.

The ADC said its proposed approach differed from that of the Tinubu administration because it believed economic reforms should be designed to protect citizens from excessive hardship.

It also warned the APC-led government against interpreting the resilience and patience of Nigerians as acceptance of the current economic situation.

“President Tinubu must act now. Don’t push Nigerians to their limits,” the party said.