By George Mgbeleke
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has rejected the Federal Government’s latest push for state governors to reduce transportation fares through Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, insisting that the measure, while potentially helpful to commuters, cannot by itself resolve Nigeria’s deepening cost-of-living crisis.

HURIWA in a statement by its natonal coordinator,Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, said the Federal Government must urgently confront the root cause of the escalating cost of transportation and production by taking decisive steps to bring down the price of petrol to a level that Nigerians and businesses can sustain.

The rights group is therefore calling for a drastic reduction of petrol prices towards the N180-per-litre level obtainable in 2021, arguing that Nigerians cannot continue to absorb the cascading effects of high energy costs across virtually every sector of the economy.

The call followed President Bola Tinubu’s directive to the 36 state governors to ensure measurable reductions in transportation costs from October 1 through expanded CNG and electric-powered public transportation programmes.

While HURIWA acknowledges the potential benefits of cheaper-energy buses, it insists that CNG buses are not a magic wand for an economy being battered by high energy costs.

The association notes that the cost of petrol does not affect transportation alone.

It directly and indirectly influences the cost of manufacturing, agriculture, food distribution, logistics, construction, small businesses and virtually every activity dependent on energy and transportation.

When the price of fuel rises uncontrollably, HURIWA says, the consequences travel through the entire economic chain.

A manufacturer pays more to power machinery and transport raw materials. A farmer pays more to move produce. A trader pays more to transport goods to the market. A small business pays more to operate generators. Ultimately, the Nigerian consumer pays the additional cost through higher prices.

This is why HURIWA considers the current approach of placing the burden of reducing transportation costs principally on state governors inadequate.

President Tinubu is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and bears the ultimate responsibility for national economic policy and the protection of the welfare of citizens.

HURIWA therefore finds it unacceptable for the Federal Government to appear to be shifting responsibility for the consequences of high fuel prices to state governors.

Governors cannot determine the international price of crude oil, regulate the entire downstream petroleum sector or independently resolve the structural weaknesses responsible for Nigeria’s energy crisis.

They can provide interventions, but they cannot substitute for a coherent national energy policy.

HURIWA consequently urges President Tinubu to move beyond temporary palliatives and take urgent measures capable of producing a sustainable reduction in energy costs.

The association notes the President’s argument that returning to the old petrol subsidy regime would expose Nigeria to the enormous fiscal burden associated with subsidy payments.

However, HURIWA insists that rejecting the former subsidy system must not mean abandoning Nigerians to uncontrolled energy costs.

There must be a credible middle ground between a ruinous subsidy regime and a situation where millions of Nigerians are priced out of transportation, food, production and basic economic activity.

The Federal Government must therefore explore every lawful fiscal, regulatory and market-based instrument available to stabilise fuel prices while protecting the most vulnerable Nigerians.

HURIWA also calls for greater transparency in the pricing structure of petrol, including the cost of crude, refining, importation, transportation, margins, taxes and other charges contributing to the pump price.

Nigerians deserve to know exactly why the price they pay at the pump remains so burdensome and what concrete measures the government is taking to bring it down.

The association welcomes the reported expansion of CNG conversion centres and alternative-energy transportation across the country, but warns against presenting these initiatives as a comprehensive solution to the nation’s economic crisis.

A CNG bus can reduce the fare paid by a passenger on one route; it cannot by itself reduce the cost of feeding a family, operating a factory, transporting farm produce or powering thousands of small businesses.

That distinction, HURIWA says, must guide the Federal Government’s response.

The association is particularly concerned about the potential consequences for the manufacturing sector if energy costs remain persistently high.

Manufacturers already operating under severe cost pressures may be forced to reduce production, increase prices or shut down altogether when the cost of energy and logistics becomes unsustainable.

Such closures would worsen unemployment, reduce domestic production and increase Nigeria’s dependence on imported goods.

HURIWA therefore urges the Federal Government to treat energy-price stability as a national economic emergency, rather than principally as a transportation problem.

The rights group further calls for accelerated domestic refining capacity, greater competition in the downstream petroleum sector, transparent pricing and targeted measures that can reduce the cost of energy for manufacturers, farmers, transport operators and households.

HURIWA believes that Nigerians should not be forced to choose between feeding their families and paying transportation costs.

The organisation equally warns state governments against passing the burden of expensive transportation entirely to already impoverished citizens and urges them to ensure that every subsidy or intervention genuinely reaches commuters.

Nigeria needs a comprehensive energy and economic rescue plan, not isolated interventions that merely move the burden from one level of government to another.

HURIWA therefore calls on President Tinubu to urgently convene relevant economic managers, state governments, labour, manufacturers, transport operators and civil society organisations to develop a sustainable framework for reducing energy and transportation costs.

The association maintains that the ultimate objective must be to restore the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians, revive domestic production and prevent the continued erosion of living standards.

The Nigerian people need affordable fuel, affordable transportation, affordable food and an economy in which production is once again viable.

CNG is part of the solution, but CNG cannot become an excuse for government to avoid confronting the wider fuel-price crisis.

HURIWA urges the Federal Government to act decisively before the combination of high energy costs, declining purchasing power and rising production expenses pushes more Nigerians and businesses beyond the limits of survival.

The time for fragmented interventions is over. Nigeria needs a comprehensive economic response that puts the welfare of its citizens at the centre.

By Our Correspondent

As 2027 election draws close,the chairman of the peoples democratic party (PDP) in Bayelsa state, high chief Alabh George Turnah, has challenged the claim by the state chairman of the All progressives congress (APC), Warman Weri Ogoriba, that the party has sufficient structures and grassroots support to deliver president Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the state in the 2027 presidential election without the support of the emerging rainbow coalition.

Ogoriba had maintained that the Bayelsa APC was firmly rooted across the state’s eight local government areas and political wards and possessed the organisation, membership and grassroots networks required to campaign for Tinubu and other APC candidates in the 2027 elections.

But Turnah, in a statement issued by his senior special assistant on media and communication, Kelvin Loveday-Egbo, described the APC chairman’s position as a political assertion that should be tested against the state’s previous voting patterns and prevailing political alignments.

He argued that the APC could not simply dismiss the significance of the PDP and the rainbow coalition while simultaneously claiming that it had already secured the support required to determine the presidential outcome in Bayelsa.

According to Turnah, the 2023 presidential election figures cited by the PDP showed that the party polled 65,145 votes in Bayelsa, while the Labour Party (LP) recorded 45,645 votes and the APC 40,417 votes.

He said the figures demonstrated the importance of broad based political mobilisation, arguing that the combined PDP and LP votes in 2023 were substantially higher than the APC’s tally.

“Those numbers are not propaganda they are figures from the last presidential election, therefore, when the APC says it has everything required to determine the presidential outcome in Bayelsa state, we should ask a simple question: what does the voting record actually tell us, Turnah said.

The PDP chairman also referred to the performance of the labour party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, arguing that his performance in Bayelsa showed the potential impact of voter mobilisation beyond established party structures.

Turnah said the political landscape had since changed, particularly with the emergence of the Nigerian democratic congress (NDC), which he linked to former Bayelsa state governor, senator Henry Seriake Dickson.

He argued that the evolving political alliances ahead of 2027 made it premature for the APC to dismiss the Rainbow Coalition or the potential contribution of opposition political structures to the presidential contest.

Turnah further claimed that governor Douye Diri’s movement into the APC had created discontent among some members of the party who had previously built the APC structure in Bayelsa,he also cited the reported departure of former governor Timipre Sylva from the APC as another factor in the state’s changing political landscape.

He said the political developments underscored the need for the APC to engage rather than dismiss other political forces ahead of the 2027 election.

“The support of the PDP and the rainbow coalition is not a peripheral matter; it is central and indispensable if president Tinubu is to win Bayelsa state, he described the Rainbow coalition, associated with FCT minister and former Rivers state governor Nyesom Wike, as a political arrangement whose relevance in his view could not be wished away.

Turnah maintained that the PDP’s longstanding political presence in Bayelsa also remained a factor that could influence the political calculations ahead of the 2027 presidential election,he, however, stressed that the PDP would continue to operate independently and make decisions in accordance with the direction of the party.

“The PDP in Bayelsa will continue to build its structures engage its members and participate in elections in accordance with the decisions of the party,nobody should mistake our political independence for an inability to participate in broader political conversations,” he said.

Turnah urged the Bayelsa APC to approach the 2027 presidential contest with what he described as political realism, rather than relying solely on claims about party structures and grassroots strength.

He said the outcome of the election would ultimately depend on voters, adding that political parties should focus their engagement on issues affecting Bayelsans, including infrastructure employment ,economic opportunities, security, education, healthcare and poverty reduction.

“The 2027 election is still ahead the political debate at this time should therefore focus on issues that matter to Bayelsans, including development, infrastructure employment, economic opportunity, poverty eradication security, education and healthcare,” he said.

Turnah added that the PDP would continue to place the interests of Bayelsans at the centre of its political engagement, stressing that the electorate would ultimately determine the outcome of the election.

By Our Correspondent

As preparations gather momentum ahead of the 2027 General Election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has described the bye-elections across Gombe, Kano, Bauchi, and Delta states as crucial operational benchmarks for testing the nation’s electoral infrastructure.

Speaking on Saturday while personally presiding over operations at the Commission’s National Situation Room at its Headquarters in Abuja, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, emphasised that no electoral contest should be dismissed as trivial or routine.

In a statement by CPS/Media Adviser to the INEC Chairman,Adedayo Oketola, the Commission conducted four key legislative bye-elections in the Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency in Gombe State, Dawakin Kudu State Constituency in Kano State, Sakwa and Disina State Constituencies in Bauchi State and Udu State Constituency in Delta State.

Amupitan, who asserted that every off-cycle poll served as an important dress rehearsal for nationwide elections, said, “These four bye-elections provide indispensable operational lessons for the Commission as we systematically chart our roadmap toward the 2027 General Election.”

“We must resist the temptation to view any exercise as merely an ordinary bye-election. Every election is a critical component of our broader preparations for the 2027 General Election, allowing us to continuously audit our logistics framework, stress-test our technological deployment, and evaluate administrative field readiness.”

The INEC Chairman, accompanied by National Commissioners and senior management officials, monitored the bye-elections as operational reports arrived from the field.

Amupitan reassured Nigerians of the Commission’s resolve to uphold electoral integrity, noting that operational bottlenecks encountered before polling were swiftly identified and resolved.

“Our primary mandate in the Situation Room is monitoring and proactive crisis resolution,” the Chairman added. “Whatever administrative or field challenges arose in before the day of the elections, the Commission was able to nip them in the bud effectively. We remain committed to refining our processes so that every subsequent exercise reflects higher standards of efficiency and public confidence.”

He thanked everyone present in the situation room, especially the technical team, for ensuring the Commission was able to monitor the multi-state exercise seamlessly and assess the field performance without any hitch