The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said President Muhammadu Buhari is “kneeling on the neck on Nigerians,” a possible reference to the killing of George Floyd, an American security guard, by Derek Chaucer, a former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on his neck.
The PDP which stated this in a statement on Sunday by Debo Ologunagba, it’s national publicity secretary, warned that the ongoing fuel crisis might snowball into nationwide protests worse than the October 2020 #EndSARS protests.
In the statement titled ‘Fuel crisis: APC is kneeling on the necks of Nigerians – PDP’, the main opposition party noted that there is a limit to the amount of suffering Nigerians can endure.
“There is a limit to what the people can bear under an administration that remains insensitive to their plights. President Buhari needs to be reminded of his duty to Nigerians, to in the least, show some empathy, competence and concern as our country rapidly drifts towards a looming precipice,” the statement said.
“The frustration in the country is already degenerating into a nationwide restiveness that may result in the breakdown of law and order if allowed to fester. With petrol now selling between N400 and N500 per litre, diesel at over N800 per litre, kerosene at over N750 and aviation fuel at N670 per litre, millions of businesses, employment and sources of livelihood have collapsed in both urban and rural areas, resulting in acute hardship and widespread social tension across the country.
“Our party fears that the situation is getting to a boiling point and can trigger a nationwide agitation that might be worse than the October 2020 #EndSARS protests if not addressed immediately.”
It also accused the President of abdicating his duties and being “aloof” and “absent” at a time the country battles “a collapsed national grid, protracted fuel crisis, distressed aviation sector, plummeting currency, crippled production and commercial activities.”
It added, “It is often said that when a government abdicated its responsibility to the citizens at whose pleasure it should serve, then that government is complicit in the suffering of its people and a beneficiary of their woes.
“If President Buhari could personally communicate on issues that concern his party, the APC, while in England, it is inconceivable that he failed and neglected, as always, to attend to life discounting experiences and pains encountered by Nigerians daily by the thoughtless and inhumane policies of his government.”
The PDP said Buhari must take responsibility and stop abdicating his duties by sending his aides to issue claims and apologies on the regime’s behalf