From John Adams, Minna
Mr Mathias Baba Tsado, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) aspirant for the Bida/Gbako/Katcha federal seat in the House of Representatives in next year’s general election, has called on the Federal Government to bring to an end, the current fuel scarcity in the country which he said already taking tools on the fragile economy.
Mr Tsado, in a statement in Minna, titled, “The current fuel scarcity and the sufferings of Nigerians”, said the lingering fuel crisis is gradually shooting up the inflation rate in the country as the transporters are now left with no choice but to adjust their transport fare in other to cope with the present reality.
According to him, ‘this by implication will naturally affect the prices of goods and food items in the market, and this will further increase the burdens of Nigerians who are already pushed to the wall due to the current hardship in the country.’
Tsado further pointed out that the current situation also has far-reaching implications on the farmers, particularly thousands of dry season farmers across the country who largely relied on fuel for their pumping machines to irrigate their farms, adding that “this has a way of eroding the little gain so far recorded in the area of agriculture by the Federal Government”.
He sighted examples of thousands of dry season farmers in Niger state, particularly those in Bida/Gbako/Katcha federal constituency who are on the verge of abandoning their farms due to their inability to purchase fuel at the current astronomical price from the black market.
‘These farmers use pumping machines to irrigate their farms and because of the current fuel situation, some of them are on the verge of abandoning their farms. They can not afford to continue buying the commodity from the black market at an exorbitant price.’
He disclosed that many of these farmers in his constituency have reached out to him for any form of intervention since they have no other means of livelihood, adding that: ‘Many farmers have taken to dry season farming within the constituency to help them meet the rising cost of living in the country, many of them have taken loans from banks and from friends to cultivate their farms but the sudden change in fuel situation has impacted negatively on their activities.’
He then warned that the Federal Government must rise up to the occasion and address this unfortunate situation as the impact of the ongoing fuel scarcity could spell doom for the country’s food security.
‘After the devastating impact of the COVID-19 on food security globally, it would be unfortunate for the Federal Government to allow our farmers to go through another challenge that would cause more hardship for the citizens in the medium and long-term, the Federal Government must intervene on this issue to avert such hardship,’ he further warned.
Tsado nonetheless expressed regret that Nigeria as an oil-producing nation, the country still cannot afford to refine petroleum for her local consumption, insisting that ‘Nigerian deserve better than years of failed promises by career politicians, I call on Nigerians to learn from their mistakes and vote for competent people in the coming general elections.’