From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Benue state has faulted the handling of subsidy removal by the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government saying the continued hike in price of petrol is putting Nigerians under intense pressure and economic poverty.
The party which decried the recent hike in price of fuel urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to implement the subsidy removal with a human face to salvage Nigerians from economic hardship.
The Publicity Secretary of PDP in Benue state, Oryina Orvaa, while speaking to Daily Sun in Makurdi on Thursday, said “As a political party, we believe that the entire approach to the implementation of subsidy removal have not been properly handled.”
Orvaa who noted that his party, the PDP, would have also removed the subsidy if they were elected to power said their implementation approach would have been different.
He said “We as a political party were also going to remove fuel subsidy if we were elected in office. The only difference is that the implementation process would have been different.
“It was going to be in phases not this spontaneous, rapid or absolute subsidy removal.
“The consequences is what we are facing today because when you do that you throw the economy into crisis and you subject the citizens to intense pressure and economic poverty.”
The spokesman said the PDP remains the only party with the best economic approach and the best ideas on how to manage the nation’s economy.
He urged Nigerians to be patient and await their return to power saying “This is why we are trying to rebuild our party in such a way that by 2027, we would have overcome all the challenges that we have and subsequently manage the Nigerian economy better than what we are experiencing today.”
He appealed to the federal government to approach the removal of fuel subsidy with a human face “because what Nigerians are going through is better imagined that told. It’s a terrible situation.”