Fuel scarcity is declaration of economic war, says Aremu

Labour leader, Comrade Isa Aremu, has described the fuel scarcity and hardship in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as an economic war against poor Nigerians.

Aremu, a National Executive Council (NEC) member of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said: “According to the 2019 budget, we are an oil-producing nation, with crude oil production estimate of 2.3 million barrels per day, including condensates. Yet, refined petroleum product eludes us. This is a national scandal.

“Where is the compatriotism? Where are the compatriots? Why would Nigerians for whatever reasons deny other fellow Nigerians (not Afghans) fuel to go to work, take children to schools, women to markets? We have in our hand what I call ‘country capture’ by few petroleum marketers and their official collaborators.”

He called for liberation from “greedy profiteers who are as worse as dreaded kidnappers.”

Describing the socio-economic situation in Nigeria as “governance crisis,” the labour chief commended “the two stakeholders meetings recently convened by President Buhari and the Senate leadership on the petroleum crisis.”

He called on the Federal Government to make marketers responsible for every tank of fuel to point of delivery and put in place severe consequences for product diversions.