CONGRATS! CONGRATS! CONGRATS! LABOUR AND CSO

CNPP PRESS STATEMENT 

15 January 2012

CONGRATS! CONGRATS! CONGRATS! LABOUR AND CSO

PRESIDENT JONATHAN OPEN THE BOOKS

Permit us to start by commiserating with the immediate families of those injured and those who lost their lives in the avoidable national crisis unleashed by President Goodluck Jonathan and his cabal; let them take solace in the historical truism that in the struggle to recover countries from tyrants sacrifices of sweat and blood were made and our dear country cannot be an exception.

Conference of Nigerian Political Parties {CNPP} wishes to extend our heartfelt congratulations to organized Labour, Civil Society Organizations {CSO} and allies of patriots for their resilience, fortitude and peaceful conduct in the struggle to resort sanity in the management of our Oil and to remind President Goodluck Jonathan and his Food is Ready cohorts that Oil Resource is the natural endowment of the Nigerian people and their commonwealth. Hence the peaceful strike did not fizzle out quickly as unfortunately assumed by hawks in the Jonathan regime.

Secondly, we salute Labour and their allies for pointing out in no uncertain terms to President Jonathan that he cannot just wake up, arbitrarily and unilaterally hike the price of the artery of our economy – fuel – in contravention of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which clearly spelt out that the welfare and security of the people is the primary purpose of government.

Thirdly, we highly commend Labour and their allies for maintaining that for any meaningful progress to be made President Jonathan must reverse to N65 per litre; from whence a comprehensive template has to be collectively worked out on how best to minimize the rampant corruption in the management of the oil resources.

In this connection, an option like launching an OIL SWAP International Competitive Bid {ICB}; whereby the 445,000 barrel per day dedicated for domestic consumption is swapped with credible refineries at the Benchmark Budget Price adopted by the National Assembly, for instance 2012 is $70 per barrel instead of the international oil price. The OIL SWAP ICB will not only give us the most appropriate pump price as we do not know when the fuel importation will stop, but will curtail the menace or chase out the fuel import cabal. This will surely give Nigerians a sense of ownership of oil; stabilize the economy and safe and cleanse the image of government from further disgrace by fuel import cabal.

Our challenge is, if President Jonathan still maintains that the arbitrary hike in the pump price is in the best interest of the good people of Nigeria and that the demand of Labour and their allies is anti-people; we challenge President Jonathan to open up the books and make public the account indices which made fuel importation to rise astronomically from N622 billion in December 2010 to N1.4 trillion in December 2011.

We are making this urgent demand on Mr President before wittingly or unwittingly the national paralysis slides dangerously into the unknown, thus placing our democracy and our dear country in harm’s way.

In sum, for if not that our affairs are managed by a political party whose only philosophy is Food is Ready and motto Share the Money, Emperor Governors and a near rubber-stamp National Assembly; the story could have been different as the impeachment of the president will take over the airwaves and no blood could have been shed on the street. Otherwise how can the National Assembly keep mute, and disregard their oversight function in the face of gross violation of the Constitution; when a president recklessly withdraw over N1 trillion from the Federation Account without due appropriation of main or supplementary budget for fuel subsidy in utter contravention of the 2011 Budget Appropriation Act, which duly appropriated N248 billion for fuel subsidy, without impeachment dangling on his head.

President Jonathan should as a matter of urgent national importance reverse the pump price to N65, N120 is blood letting; for it is our considered view that the health of our dear nation is more paramount that his ego and the anticipated accruals from the Fuel Tax on the hapless people.

ALUTA CONTINUA!

Osita Okechukwu

National Publicity Secretary

CNPP