*’It’s Tokenism, Move To Deceive Voters’
*Turn Out En Masse 16 January, Vote Out Clueless Tinubu, Usher In Obi-Kwankwaso For Pain Relief, Party Urges
By Tony Ezimakor, Abuja
Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) has urged suffering Nigerians not to fall for the antics of President Bola Tinubu and his sinking All Progressives Congress (APC) government through what it described as the ill- conceived 30-day discount on petrol at NNPC filling stations.
The party dubbed the exercise a deceptive tokenism.
Instead the party urged the hard-pressed Nigerian citizenry to remain resilient and look ahead with courage, come out en masse and vote out the current government on 16 January, 2027.
Recall that yesterday the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, had announced the discount measure, which surprisingly was not described as a subsidy.
“We are offering a discount on petrol dispensed by NNPC Limited for the next 30 days in the first instance, with priority for public transporters nationwide. So, it’s not a subsidy. The government is just saying we sell to you at cost,” Oyedele stated.
However , NDC through its National Publicity Secretary (NPS), Osa Director, dismissed the gesture as nothing but tokenism and a Greek gift from a government that whimsically removed fuel subsidy without proper consideration, consultation, or cushions for vulnerable Nigerians.
The party insists that Nigerians cannot be deceived with just three months to the general elections, adding that the APC government must be held to account for its misrule.
NDC asked: “What happens to the millions of Nigerians who lost their jobs and whose businesses collapsed as a result of the callous and poorly planned removal of subsidy? What about those who lost their lives in poorly equipped government hospitals that have now become mortuaries?
“It is clear that President Bola Tinubu and the APC government are desperate, and Nigerians must not be deceived. Emilokanomics has failed woefully.
“The attempt to reintroduce petrol subsidy through the backdoor is not only mischievous but a sign of a government in free fall, ready to clutch at anything to survive.”
NDC noted that bogus promise to dispense discounted fuel at designated NNPC retail outlets is another unthoughtful action to subject suffering Nigerians to agony of long fuel queues, given the limited number of NNPC service stations across the country.
“Is this not the recipe for another stampede that could have many more Nigerians trampled to death at the filling stations?
“Several questions beg for answers, but the only answer staring Nigerians in the face is that the economy is in a tailspin and at a tipping point. The APC has shown itself glaringly incapable of rescuing the country from imminent collapse,” it noted.
In the face of mounting dilemma, the party has urged Nigerians not to despair, assuring them that hope is around the corner.
“Peter Obi, under the NDC, will put Nigeria back on the right track. A New Nigeria In a few months, specifically on 16th January, 2027, Nigerians should come out en masse and vote for Peter Obi and all other NDC candidates to vote out the most clueless and rudderless government in the history of Nigeria,” Director emphasized.
