Latunbosun Oyintiloye, a prominent figure within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, has issued a pressing plea to Bola Tinubu, urging immediate action to address the soaring costs of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) across Nigeria.
Speaking to reporters in Osogbo on Sunday, Mr. Oyintiloye highlighted the increasing burden placed on ordinary citizens by the escalating price of cooking gas.
He emphasized that amidst struggles to put food on the table, the accessibility of cooking resources should not compound their hardships.
Despite the announcement by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, on February 22, directing LPG producers to halt exports, Mr. Oyintiloye expressed dismay that this directive had not translated into relief for consumers. He suggested that either producers were clandestinely exporting LPG or the ban had not been fully enforced.
Citing alarming statistics, the former member of the defunct APC Presidential Campaign Council highlighted the staggering cost of refilling a 12.5kg cylinder, which now ranged between N17,500 and N18,000 in various parts of the country.
Mr. Oyintiloye underscored the repercussions of these exorbitant prices, noting a concerning trend where many consumers, unable to afford LPG, were resorting to traditional solid fuels such as charcoal and firewood.
Expressing grave concerns, he warned of the environmental consequences of such a shift, including deforestation, desertification, and soil degradation, which could ultimately exacerbate issues like erosion and climate change.
“This will, in turn, pose a 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.
“In an attempt to substitute clean cooking gas to firewood and charcoal by cutting down green trees, this will affect human survival because there will be no adequate oxygen in the blood system,” he said.
He urged Tinubu to take drastic measures to crash the product’s price in the interest of the masses.
“The fuel subsidy removal is biting hard on the people, and the electricity supply is unstable.
“All relevant and critical stakeholders must join hands with Tinubu to tackle the challenges in the gas industry,” he said.
Mr. Oyintiloye, in contrast, lauded Mr. Tinubu for his proactive measures aimed at stabilizing the Nigerian naira against the United States dollar.
Expressing confidence, Mr. Oyintiloye asserted that with patience and unwavering support for the president, the prevailing economic challenges in the country would soon become a distant memory.
(NAN)
