12022018 - Fuel crisis : PDP, APC in verbal war over President's role

Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2018—5
POCKET CARTOON
THANKSGIVING—Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson (R), felicitates with the Chairman,
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bayelsa State Chapter, Bishop Jacob Akpiri (M); while Bishop
Ebi Belepeigha (L), looks on, during the 6th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service of the Restoration
Government, at the King of Glory Chapel, Government House, Yenagoa.
FUEL CRISIS: PDP, APC in verbal
war over President's role Secretary,
Continues from Page 1
Minister of Petroleum
Resources, given the
attendant fuel crisis in the
country.
The face-off between the
two parties came as a civil
society group, Spaces for
Change, expressed
concern at the weekend
that the passage of the
Petroleum Governance
Industry Bill, PGIB, could
be of no effect to the
industry if the President
continued to serve as
Minister of Petroleum.
The assertion of the
group was, however,
debunked by another civil
society group, Civil
Society Advocacy and
Legislative Centre,
CISLAC which averred
that the coming into law
of the Petroleum Industry
Governance law would
make the minister
essentially nominal.
The PDP, commenting
on the unending fuel
supply crisis in the
country, observed that
President Buhari as
Minister of Petroleum
should accept
responsibility for the
manifest failure in the oil
sector, even as his
government should be
held responsible for the
exacerbated economic
and security situation in
the country.
PDP National Publicity
Kola
Ologbondiyan, in a
statement said it was
disheartening that instead
of being remorseful for its
failures, the APC-led
government was busy
dishing out lies and
fabricated indices in an
attempt to give Nigerians
false hope on issues
related to the fuel crisis
and the collapsing
national economy.
The Promise
The party also said the
fact that the Presidency
has unapologetically
failed to fix a national
problem, which in
December 2017 it
promised to resolve within
one week, showed it had
no solution but intended
to continue to hold the
nation to ransom.
PDP stated: “The
inherent poor
coordination, inefficiency
and reported heavy
sleazes in a sector that is
under the direct
supervision of the
President, raise a lot of
issues and speak volumes
of the evident
mismanagement of the
system for which the
economy is now in
complete shambles.
“It is an appalling height
of insensitivity that the
President, as the Minister
of Petroleum Resources,
has failed to take any
decisive steps to arrest the
situation, which has
remained unabated since
the last Yuletide.
“Rather, the sector has
been delivered to an APC
cabal, whose mission,
particularly, the desperate
re-election bid, largely
accounts for the biting fuel
situation and the
economic misery
Nigerians suffer today.
“It is instructive to state
that the Presidency has
refused to offer any
explanation on the
allegations linking the
fuel crisis to the exposed
siphoning of billions of
naira through shady oil
subsidy deals and the
illegal lifting of crude oil
worth trillions of naira,
ostensibly to service APC
interests ahead of the
2019 general elections.
“The point is that owing
to the ineptitude of the
Buhari Presidency and
the desperation to remain
in power, millions of
Nigerians are
languishing.
“The economy has
further dipped in the last
two months of this
harrowing fuel situation;
more businesses have
folded up, prices of
essential goods are
skyrocketing and families
are, more than ever
before, under intense
pressure of meeting
economic demands.
“Currently, marauders
have chased farmers
Continues on Page 45
By Bose Adelaja,
Bartholomew Madukwe &
Frederick Okopie
Will arrest of people for dumping refuse solve wast
aste problem in Lagos? (1)
The Lagos State Government
is in order
because cart pushers are
law breakers. They are
not registered operators.
They are just disorganising
everywhere. Those
cart pushers, after collecting
refuse discharge
it on the road and go
away. Their arrest is in
order and they should be
prosecuted.
Mr. Kiki Emmanuel,
Politician
Arrest is not meant to
kill anybody. It is just
a corrective measure.
Once a new law is in
place, people hardly
abide by it. The danger
of dumping refuse on
the road is flooding. The
Lagos State Government
wants people to do it
right and keep the state
clean.
Mr. Ayodeji Adebayo,
Worker
Ibelieve it is very right
for the state government
to have taken such
decision. The state looks
very dirty. With this, everywhere
will soon become
neat. Lagos State
Government wants a better
life for Lagosians.
Mr. Olanrewaju Mohammed,
Agriculturist
This is very good, it is
on point. Lagos State
Government has been
trying to intervene on
the issue of refuse in the
state. A dirty environment
could endanger
residents’ lives if nothing
is done as soon as
possible. There are
30,000 dustbins dropped
at Amuwo Odofin Local
Government Area. It is
barbaric to dump refuse
on roads. Mr. Michael
Ojomo,
Councillor
The arrest of those
who dump refuse on
Lagos roads is good.
Most of them dump the
refuse on the roads because
they do not have
where to empty it. This
will serve as warning to
others. The major purpose
is to make Lagos
clean again. Cleanliness
is next to godliness. Mr
Abimbola Oluwasegun,
Council Leader
I
would not want to
agree that it is only
truck pushers that dump
refuse on the roads in
Lagos. Most Lagosians
do that as well. Waste
Care Solutions Limited
is a company tasked with
the responsibility of
cleaning the roads and
major highways, which
they do using mechanised
sweeping trucks,
under the Cleaner Lagos
Initiative.
Ms. Precious Amaechi,
Entrepreneur