Don’t fast-forward Nigeria’s break-up –CPC

Posted by admin CPC (Congress 4 Progressive Change), Party Politics Sunday, October 9th, 2011

As Nigerians brace up for the proposed removal of subsidy on petroleum products, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has warned that the decision by the Federal Government spells doom for the country.

The Presidency has already indicated that it would remove oil subsidy beginning with the 2012 budget. In a telephone interview with Sunday Sun, the spokesman of the CPC presidential candidate, Mr Yinka Odumakin, warned the government against the planned removal of the subsidy on petroleum products.

Odumakin accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led federal government of insensitivity to the plight of the ordinary Nigerian.
He revealed that between 1999 when democracy returned to the country and now, the poverty index had risen from 45 per cent to 76 per cent.

“The moment they brought the hit woman, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala from the World Bank to the Finance Ministry, we knew that they were back to their game. Do they want to kill the poor?” Odumakin queried, adding: “In 1999 when the Peoples Democratic Party assumed the leadership of this country, poverty level was 45 per cent. But today, it has risen to 76 per cent and now they want to increase it again.” He warned that removing the subsidy would amount to fast-tracking the break-up of the country, as the people would resist it vehemently.

“They are looking for trouble. If they want to add to the pains of the masses beyond what it is now, they will be fast-tracking the break-up of the country. The consequences of the people’s reaction to such action will be unpredictable,” he said. Also carpeting the proposal, former governor of the old Kaduna State and chairman, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Alhaji Balarabe Musa, said the country was getting to the end of the road as far as development was concerned.

He described the President’s move as very unfortunate.“The President had asked Nigerians for help. He admitted that public institutions had collapsed and he needed the assistance of Nigerians to save the country from collapsing because if the institutions collapse, then the country will equally collapse,” Musa stated. According to him, instead of the President promoting policies that would add to the hardship of Nigerians, he should try to win their confidence through good governance.

He added that the removal of subsidy would mean enough money for the ruling elite to steal as they have been doing.“This withdrawal of fuel subsidy will introduce tremendous amount of revenue to the government, which will not be for the welfare and security of the citizens. The ruling elite would steal it. This is what they have been doing and they will continue,” he said.

-Sunwp_posts