CNPP, Adebayo urge Buhari to sign electoral bill
Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), yesterday, called for declaration of a state of emergency in the oil and gas sector of the economy.
It said: “To us in IPAC, it is much more rewarding and worthwhile to stop continuous theft and block all gaping loopholes in the oil sector, rather than embark on the obfuscating shenanigans of retaining or removing the so-called petroleum subsidy.
“Whichever option the government adopts, we will find ourselves in a-catch-twenty-two scenario because, retention of subsidy literally means subsidising perfidy and theft, while removing or postponing its removal is simply postponing doomsday.”
In a statement by National Chairman, Yabagi Yusuf Sani, IPAC said, since the N3 trillion needed to subsidise petrol in the next one year has not been captured in the in the 2022 budget, it means government will have to embark on another borrowing trip, further worsening the nation’s heavy debt burden.
It noted: “According to an official report of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, in 2019, the country lost about 200,000 barrels of crude daily to thieves. The same agency said the figure dropped to 150,000 barrels in its report on the subject for 2021.
“Going by very conservative estimates, each of the figures would amount to over N3 trillion that the country is yearly losing to criminals in the oil sector! Of course, not a few observers of the industry believe that the actual figures of the stolen oil might be much higher than those officially given.
“Even then, certain perturbing and pertinent questions remain: What is the government doing to stop the horrendous perennial theft? Who are these saboteurs of the nation’s economy? And why has it been so difficult to bring the criminals to book all these years?”
IPAC, therefore, advised President Muhammadu Buhari to “embark on a single-minded, relentless war against the behemoth that has been bleeding and draining the nation’s lifeblood all these years in the dubious guise of subsidy.”
MEANWHILE, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has urged Buhari to sign the re-amended electoral bill into law to ensure success of the 2023 general elections.
In a statement signed by CNPP Secretary General, Chief Willy Ezugwu, the group said: “Nothing should be a stumbling block to assent of the bill by Mr. President as the National Assembly has already done his bidding. Nigerian democracy is at a crossroads, and improving our electoral system is a must for survival of the country.”
It added: “The best legacy Mr. President can leave, at this time of our national life, is to bequeath on the country transparent elections, of which assent to the Electoral Act Amendment is critical.”
ALSO, President of Kaftan TV and Founder of the Law House, Prince Adewole Adebayo, asked Nigerians to mount pressure on Buhari to assent to the re-worked electoral bill.
According to him, “It is a question whether President Buhari wants to leave a legacy that people can remember him for. What I can say to the Nigerian people is that we need a new electoral act. The bill sent to the President is not one of the best but it is an improvement over the ones we are using now. We should mount pressure on the President so he can sign the electoral bill into an act.”
Source: Guardian.ng