The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has said the high cost of energy impacts health and security just like it does to the economy.
Afeniferes remark, made yesterday, is in reaction to the price of a litre of petrol now going for between N1,000 and N1,400, a kilogramme of cooking gas is about N1,500.
As of 2023, a litre of fuel was N197 while a kilogramme of gas was about half the current price.
In its latest report, the National Bureau of Statistics, (NBS), indicated that inflation rates have risen to 32.70 percent in September this year.
In August, the federal government announced that a bag of rice, a foodstuff that is widely consumed in Nigeria, would be N40,000. However, currently, a bag goes for between N90,000 and N105,000. The same for many other commodities including electricity.
Reacting, Afeniferes National Publicity Secretary, Jare Ajayi, in a statement, said: The cost of energy has skyrocketed. Yet, it is a known fact that energy is not just a driver of the economy, it is also a driver of health and security going by the impact it has on these sectors. For instance, people who stressed themselves too much on the road because they could not afford transport, those who could not regulate the temperature in their homes and offices, or afford the requisite energy to prepare food properly, would be endangering their health conditions.
In the same vein, high cost of energy fuel, electricity, gas, diesel, gasoline etc. are forcing a lot of people out of business. And, as is known, the crime rate is always high where the unemployment rate is high, thus inducing insecurity and banditry.
To quickly ease the pains that the high cost of energy is causing Nigerians, Afenifere called on the NNPCL to deliver on its promises of revamping the countrys moribund refineries.
The logical thing to do is for the NNPCL to reverse its recent price hike and ensure that its refineries begin production immediately, it stated.
Afenifere further called for home-grown policies that will boost local businesses, encourage innovation and reduce the heavy reliance on importation as is currently the case.
