A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has urged President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the hike of cooking gas prices in the country.
Oyintiloye, a former member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council, opined that Nigerians couldn’t be facing harsh economic realities in getting what to eat while at the same time, having difficulty using gas to cook food.
He stated this in Osogbo, the Osun State capital on Sunday while speaking with newsmen, adding that the cost of cooking gas was becoming unbearable for the masses.
The party chieftain lamented that the cost of refiling a 12.5kg cylinder of gas in many parts of the country now ranges between N17,500 and N18,000.
He recalled that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, on February 22, announced that the Federal Government had asked producers of Liquefied Petroleum Gas to stop exporting the commodity, saying that the decision had not yielded any positive results in the reduction of the price of the item locally.
Oyintiloye said, “I know that Mr. President has a listening ear, and he will do something urgent about this matter.
“The announcement by the petroleum minister(state) on the ban on the exportation of the product is a good one, but it has not started having any positive effects on the masses.
“The fuel subsidy removal is biting hard on the people, and the electricity supply is not stable.
“All these are impacting negatively on Nigerians, and solutions should be provided without further delay.
“All relevant and critical stakeholders must join hands with the President to tackle the challenges in the oil and gas industry,.”
The chieftain noted that the “rising prices of the item might be as a result of LPG producers secretly exporting the products,” the statement noted.
He equally stressed the need for a reduction in the price of cooking gas, saying the use of solid fuels like charcoal and firewood is detrimental to the quality of the environment.
This, he added, could “aggravate climate change challenges and its adverse effects such as deforestation, desertification, and soil degradation that could lead to erosion.
“This will in turn pose serious danger to the respiratory organ, fatigue, headaches, confusion, and dizziness to the human system due to inadequate oxygen delivery to the brain, thereby reducing the overall well-being of people.
“Human beings depend on green plants for our daily supply of oxygen while giving back carbon dioxide to the plants.
“In an attempt to substitute clean cooking gas for firewood and charcoal by cutting down green trees, this will affect human survival,.”
Oyintiloye commended the President for stabilising the naira against the dollar and also encouraged Nigerians to support Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“I want to commend the President on his tireless efforts in putting the economy of the country on the right path.
“With patience, endurance, prayers and support for the President, we will come out stronger from these challenges,” he added.
