A university don and former presidential candidate of Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA), Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, has appealed to Nigerian students to shelve the planned nationwide protest on fuel price hike slated for September 15, 2024.
Adesanya-Davies equally called on the federal government to urgently proffer solutions to the fuel price hike, the hunger in the nation and the economy in general.
The don enjoined the aggrieved students and the government to employ dialogue in resolving the issue of fuel price hike.
She added that, “As a matter of urgency, President Bola Tinubu should please, simply cut the cost of governance, reduce the pays of the governors, the upper and lower House members, increase salaries, bring down the price of fuel, fix refineries and encourage farming and importation of food.”
She added, “I appeal to NANS to remember that these are the “Ember months” and we don’t want students’ lives lost. I urge our students to kindly give more time to the government, and cool temper.
“Please, this news is alarming because NANS, the students apex body in the nation has over 40 million Nigerian students, and the government should not turn a deaf ear to it. I therefore plead with President Bola Tinubu to recognise his programmes which have plunged Nigerians into unfathomable hardship and restore fuel subsidy in a transparent manner to power productivity.
“It is a fact that despite being one of the leading oil producers, Nigeria faces regular fuel shortages that have a crippling effect on the economy. This is because it relies on petroleum products that are imported by the state-owned oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
“Currently, the country has very little refining capacity and must bring in finished products for consumption in the country.
“Moreover, Nigeria is being unfortunately currently tagged, “The poverty capital of the world”, Adesanya- Davies added.
