Festus Ogun, a Lagos-based legal practitioner, has filed a
suit against President Muhammadu Buhari over the recent petrol scarcity in the
country.
In February, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum
Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) had confirmed that petrol with methanol content
above national specification was imported into the country.
Amid efforts to recall the off-spec petrol from circulation,
the supply chain was disrupted, causing long queues at filling stations until
April.
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/743/22 and filed before a
federal high court in Lagos, Ogun accused the president of causing “excessive
pain, hardship and agony” to Nigerians during the petrol scarcity.
Among the reliefs sought, he is asking the court to declare
that Buhari’s dual position as president and petroleum minister is
unconstitutional.
In a statement on Monday, he also claimed that the petroleum
sector has not been run efficiently.
“I solemnly believe that the gross inefficiency and
mismanagement in the petroleum sector, that led to the fuel scarcity, is
avoidable if the president was not holding the dual position of petroleum
minister in violation of Section 138 of the 1999 Constitution,” the statement
reads.
“I believe that the president’s continuous serving as
petroleum minister is not only illegal and unconstitutional, it is inimical to
our economic growth and likely to occasion future scarcity and inefficiency
that will affect the country and its good people.
“I make bold to say that it is practically and legally
impossible for the President to hold his elected position, that comes with
enormous responsibilities, contemporaneously with the position of petroleum
minister. It has no basis in law, logic and politics.
“If Nigerians suffered that heavily during the fuel
scarcity, the president must be answerable for it. There must be consequences.
“And as a citizen of this country, I believe we must avert a
reoccurrence; whether under this regime or in future administrations.”
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Bravo Mr. Ogun. This is a right step in the right direction. The petroleum sector has been grossly mismanaged over the years. And Nigerians are at the receiving end. So, somebody must be answerable to the pains caused to the citizens.
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