By Taye Obateru
Jos: Two civil right groups, the United Action for Democracy (UAD), North Central Zone and Christian Foundation for Social Justice and Equity say they would mobilize citizens in the zone to embark on mass protests against the removal of oil subsidy as from Monday. The groups in a joint statement on Wednesday signed by Messrs Joseph Sangosanya and Jide Afolabi for the Christian foundation and UAD respectively, described the increase in the price of petrol as inhuman considering the hardship Nigerians were already going through.

“We consider this policy not only insensitive, ill thought out and absolutely unnecessary, but also provocative and inhumane. Given the fact that 80% of Nigerians live below what is considered the poverty line, and 90% live on less than two dollars a day, an increase of this magnitude or whatever magnitude for that matter will spell social and economic doom for the vast majority of Nigerians who are already overburdened by unemployment, poor infrastructure, high cost of living, unaffordable basic social services and dwindling livelihoods.

“As it stands, cost of transport, goods and other services have already tripled in all states of the North Central Zone and elsewhere. Transport fare from Jos to Abuja that used to be N1, 200, is now N2500. Some families who travelled out of the State for the festivities are already stranded as their budget can no longer take them back home”, it said.

The statement added that Nigerians were not convinced on government’s pledge of judicious use of the money saved from the subsidy removal adding, “going by previous similar promises by the same economic think tank (like the $1billion to be saved annually from Paris Club debt deal and channeled into critical infrastructure), it is clear that this government has neither the will nor the sincerity of purpose to pursue real transformative and poverty alleviating economic reforms.

Worse still, government’s failure to tackle the ‘cabal’ which it claims at every instance is responsible for colossal fraud in oil importation, and its failure to revamp the refineries (which by the way if operating at installed capacity can provide both the real and ‘ghost’ local consumption figures), is proof of this.

It is worrying that in a country that is rated as a key exporter of crude oil on the one hand, while its citizens are noted as some of the poorest in the world on the other; government will even contemplate such a debilitating economic policy.”

It added: “Beginning from Monday the 9th of January, 2012, we shall mobilize citizens to begin an indefinite series of mass actions aimed to registering discontent over the suffering this policy has already begun to bring about.”

It condemned attempts by some state governments to ban protests arguing that freedom of assembly and to protest against unpopular government policies were constitutionally guaranteed rights of citizens.