Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Dizeani Allison Madueke
By Onyebuchi Ezigbo
The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) has described Federal Government's decision to commence withdrawal of subsidy on petroleum products Sunday without approval by the National Assembly as tantamount to a declaration of economic war against the populace.
The party in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, said the action of the Federal Government “is not only traitorous, but very callous desire to hurt the Nigerian people”.
Fashakin noted that the implementation of the fuel subsidy removal by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government was coming on the heels of the decision not to provide for fuel subsidy in the 2012 budget awaiting the assent of the National Assembly.
He said what is bewildering, however, is that a regime that pretends to derive its legitimacy from the people is implementing a policy that obviates the need for the assent of the people’s representatives. “This is a clear mutation towards fascism and declaration of war on the Nigerian people!
“The PDP-led Federal Government, having tied this utterly insensitive policy to the budgetary provision, has with hubris and much scorn of the people, embarked on its implementation before the necessary assent of the National Assembly,” he said.
He expressed the concern of CPC that the PDP-led regime had taken similar steps to ignore the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by spending above N1.3 trillion as against the N240 billion provided for and appropriated in the 2011 fiscal year.
“It is our considered view that this decided action of the Federal Government is not only traitorous, but very callous desire to hurt the Nigerian people, while pandering to the imperialistic intervention of foreign interest. Undoubtedly, this latest decision clearly negates the provision of Section 14(2b) which declares that, the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government,” he added.