
President Muhammadu Buhari’s special assistant on social media, Lauretta Onochie, has declined a request to join a scheduled protest against her principal on October 1.
Onochie, who was one of those that protested the removal of petrol subsidy during the Goodluck Jonathan administration, had received a request from a Twitter user to join the protest against the hike in electricity tariffs and petrol price under the present administration.
The Buhari administration had abolished the fuel subsidy regime which saw the hike in the ex-depot price of petrol and consequent increase in the pump price from N148 per litre to N162.
The government’s decision had sparked outrage and prompted members of the #RevolutionNow movement to fix a nationwide protest for October 1, which happens to be Nigeria’s Independent Day.
But Onochie explained that she won’t be joining the planned protest because she believes the Buhari administration would judiciously utilize monies saved from the new subsidy removal.
She said, “No I will not be Joining you and for good reasons too. Not sure you can understand but I’ll try
“If the subsidy was removed in 2012, the savings would have gone into private pockets, Looted.
“Today, Nigerians have a President they trust. The recovered subsidy, would serve Nigerians,” Onochie claimed.
Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, had expressed confidence that the government’s decision would minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s economy.
“Our country Nigeria is going through a difficult economic period because of the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. This same crisis has also given us the opportunity to undertake some reforms that have been very difficult to carry out in the past,” Ahmed said during a web seminar organised by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to a statement issued by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the increase of petrol price and electricity tariff.
The PDP had blasted the President Muhammadu Buhari administration and his party, the APC, over the increment.
The PDP described the action as “callous, cruel and punishing,” and called on the government to reverse the prices in order to prevent a national crisis.
But, the APC in a reaction by its Spokesman, Yekini Nabena, on Wednesday, accused the previous PDP governments of foisting on the country “a corruption-tainted fuel subsidy regime.”
Nabena asked the PDP to instead, call “its cronies who ran the subsidy rackets – many of them in hiding abroad – to return our stolen commonwealth in their possession.”
He argued that under the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, fuel queues had disappeared.
He added that the reviewed petroleum products pricing template had led to a more transparent, efficient and realistic system for petroleum products, resulting in constant availability of fuel nationwide.
The spokesman further noted: “The pricing template now reflects competitive and market driven components which is supported by the citizenry.
“In an effort by this administration to put an end to estimated and arbitrary billing for electricity, President Buhari recently directed a nationwide mass metering programme for electricity consumers in the country.
“For the PDP that is only concerned with pushing the interests of its few cronies over the general interest and welfare of the citizenry, we dont expect the PDP to grasp the import of this landmark presidential directive which aside improving electricity and service delivery, is also protecting the poor and vulnerable Nigerians from increased electricity tariff and arbitrary/estimated billings.”
On the issue of electricity tariff, Nabena noted that “Comendably, the federal government is already working to ensure that Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) commit to increasing the number of hours of electricity supply every day and also improve on their quality of service.
“Perhaps the PDP is also unaware, that the current administration has approved a one-year waiver of import levy on electricity meters, so that Nigerians who do not have meters can be supplied as early as possible at a reasonable cost.”
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