RESCIND PETROL SUBSIDY REMOVAL— SOME ABIA RESIDENTS TELL TINUBU

REPORTER: UZOMA NWANKWO

President Bola Tinubu has been called upon to rescind his decision to stop the fuel subsidy regime until necessary mechanisms are put in place to cushion the effects of the removal.

Some residents of Umuahia, Abia State, made the appeal while reacting to the sudden increase in the pump price of petrol just after the President announced the subsidy removal during his inaugural speech at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

One of them, a public servant, Mr. Enyinnaya Nwaigwe, explained that the timing for the removal would not go down well with Nigerians as it had already doubled the hardship faced by citizens following the outrageous increase in the price of the product by marketers just less than 24 hours of the announcement.

He said the present administration would have established functional refineries and other mechanisms in place in the country before removing the subsidy, pointing out that the development would cause further inflation in the economy.

Another resident, Mr. Haggler Nwosu, frowned on the attitude of some of the petroleum marketers, who he described as opportunists that had capitalized on the announcement to extort fellow Nigerians.

He called on the relevant task force to swing into action and sanction any marketer found guilty of the price hike.

Mr. Nwosu said for the country to develop further, all hands must be on deck to support government-people oriented programmes and policies than sabotage.

EDITED BY CHUKWUBUIKE MADU