The Yoruba Youth Council has made a strong appeal to both the President-elect Bola Tinubu and players in the petroleum industry.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that this appeal was made in a press statement released on Thursday by its National President, Ayodele Gbologe.
In the release, the council stated that the average Nigerian is already struggling to afford basic necessities, let alone cope with the additional financial burden that would result from the removal of fuel subsidies.
The council expressed concern that any palliatives put in place to cushion the effect of subsidy removal would likely be looted, worsening the plight of the masses.
The Yoruba Youth Council emphasised that it would not stand by while the interests of the Nigerian people were being disregarded.
“Even up till now, Nigerian has not fully recovered from the recent satanic Naira redesigning policy, which crippled several businesses and brought hardship to citizens.
“Except government wants to pretend as if they are not aware that citizens no longer have trust in them,” Gbologe said.
Moreover, the council warned that the fight to maintain current fuel prices would be more challenging than the ENDSARS protests that took place in 2020.
“We have consulted our counterpart in the Southeast and the North and we are still consulting for them to join forces with us in fighting the battle.
“We have also start to re-orientate our members to be ever ready for the sacrifice as power belong to the people.
“We are very optimistic that the fight is going to be more formidable and successful than that of ENDSARS, in case government insists on the removal,” he warned.
The Yoruba Youth Council appealed to all stakeholders to prioritise the interests of the Nigerian people over short-term gains and urged for a sustainable solution to the issue of fuel subsidies that would not further burden the already suffering masses.
