Oby Ezekwesili, former minister of education, says officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC) are “running around” fillings stations to impress President Muhammadu Buhari.
In the last few days, Maikanti Baru, group managing director of NNPC, and some top officials of the corporation have been going to filing stations over the petrol scarcity being experienced in the country.
The scarcity has persisted for at least three weeks.
Writing via her Twitter handle on Wednesday, Ezekwesili wondered why the NNPC officials will be “straining” themselves touring the filling stations.
The former vice-president of World Bank (African region) said rather than make use of market forces in seeking enduring solution to the scarcity, the officials have chosen to impress the president against citizens’ interest.
She wrote: “Me: Why are officials of government & NNPC annoyingly running around fuel stations? Is there no one with basic training in economics anymore?
“Why are they straining themselves with the workload that market forces can easily do for them?
“Me: They are running around to enforce price control and impress president .@MBuhari , not the Citizens. They know he hates the words, market forces, deregulation & liberalization but loves command and control.
“He is clapping for them but the Citizens are not smiling. #VerySad.”
While observing that the fuel scarcity crisis is not abating, Ezekwesili also asked: “At what point would the federal government, @AsoRock @MBuhari @ProfOsinbajo @IbeKachikwu @NNPCgroup GMD embrace the truth of how market for goods like fuel functions?
“Only truth sets free.”
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