From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Presidency has replied former President Goodluck Jonathan, who expressed surprise that those who criticised him for leaving the pump price of fuel at N87 are not speaking out now that it has been jerked up to N143.
The former president’s administration had in
2012, increased fuel price from N67 to N97 but reduced it to N87 in January 2015.
The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina through his twitter handle @femadesina, said the difference between 2012 and 2015 fuel increase is trust.
He tweeted, “When petrol went to N145 under PMB, Nigerians held their peace, unlike when they shut the country in 2012. The difference is trust. Simple.”
Speaking on Thursday when Tunde Adeniran, one of the chairmanship aspirants of the PDP, visited him in his Abuja office, Jonathan defended the decisions he took on the price of fuel.
In what seems to be an indirect attack on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Jonathan said the PDP led Nigerians well in its 16 years of being in power “even though some people came up with propaganda and lies that 16 years of the party in government was a waste”.
“My government was severely criticised for increasing the pump price of petroleum from N67 to N97 at a time that global crude price was going for over 100 dollars.
“The pump price was later reduced to N87 when the price of crude oil dropped and they attacked us that it was supposed to be lower.
“Those who criticised my administration are not talking again now that the global crude oil is about 53 dollars per barrel and the pump price of petrol is N143,” Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan’s spokesman, quoted him in a statement.