Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
The Labour Party (LP) has urged president Bola Tinubu to lead by example by sacking himself as the Minister of Petroleum, saying he has performed abysmally beyond expectations of Nigerians.
The National Publicity Secretary of the (LP) Mr Obiora Ifoh, made the call while responding to questions as they relate to the recent cabinet reshuffling.
Obiora Ifoh, while reminding the President of his promises of sacking Ministers with poor performance, challenged that of the office of the Minister of Petroleum, having performed poorly, with failed promises of revamping the refineries, reducing pump prices, and a failed subsidy regime.
Further speaking, Obiora Ifoh said, “And when we are talking about the ministry of petroleum, we are talking of the one that is expected to generate over 70 percent of our income annually.
“The Minister of Petroleum has become the worst minister as far as this dispensation is concerned.
“The Ministry of Petroleum, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has performed poorly and needs to be changed. But the issue is that the President cannot sack himself in our clime. We thought he should live up to his words.
” He should be able to tell us how many barrels of oil Nigeria produces and exports daily and also how many we consume locally. He should be able also to tell us how many refineries have been fixed under his administration. The Minister of Petroleum should be able to tell us the reason for the arbitrary increase in pump price and lack of the product at the same time. Nigerians are still waiting to be educated on the integrity of subsidy policy summersaults”
On the decisions made to sack former ministers of Women’s Affairs and Education, he said, “You and I knew that nothing whatsoever was going to be done to turn around the economy as far as cabinet reshuffling is concerned.
“And when we talk about the economy, we should be talking about the key economic sectors, like the National Budget and planning, finance, Agriculture, and Health.
“And from what he has done, I don’t foresee any magic that would turn around this battered economy from what just happened.
“What we just witnessed is a mickey-mouse game, moving people from one position to the other, and that is not what Nigerians are expecting from the government after almost one year of continuous rumours of cabinet reshuffle”.