Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, Pastor Tunde Bakare and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, in Lagos on Monday faulted the decision of the Federal Government to remove fuel subsidy, describing the action as anti-people.
They urged President Goodluck Jonathan to rescind his decision to withdrew fuel subsidy, saying he should revert to the N65 pump price.
The trio spoke at a rally to condemn the subsidy withdrawal, which forced Labour to begin an indefinite strike on Monday.
Presidents, Coalition Against Corrupt leaders and Campaign for Democracy, Mr. Debo Adeniran and Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin including other notable human rights activists and lawyers also spoke in the same vein.
Soyinka in a speech read on his behalf by Okei-Odumakin, said hardly had government detachment from the people it was supposed to serve been so evident as shown in the subsidy removal.
He stated that it was ironical that the government obtained an injunction to stop the strike, considering the little consideration it paid to the judiciary in the case involving the former President of the Appeal Court, Justice Ayo Salami.
Soyinka said, ‘‘The bruited palliatives, as illusory as electoral promises, belong to what Nigerians routinely describes as ‘medicine after death’. A serious government would have emplaced the ‘palliatives’ first, worked assiduously to ensure that they were effectively enforced, with, at the very least, a guaranteed stabilisation of the existing level of Nigerian subsistence, which was nothing to crow about in any case. Nothing remotely approaching this protective measure has taken place, only-Business As Usual.’’
No comments:
Post a Comment