A prominent elder statesman and activist from the Niger Delta, Sokari Soberekon, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to remain vigilant against deceitful counsel masked as half-truths.
In a recent interview with The PUNCH in Port Harcourt, Soberekon highlighted concerns regarding the recent hike in fuel prices, attributing it not directly to the president but to his advisors.
“People near the President and Governor Fubara many times tell them half-truths and half-truth is a lie. So, I’m warning President Tinubu and Governor Fubara to be wary of half-truths,” he stated.
He clarified that, while President Tinubu may sign off on various decisions, the complexities of his office could lead to misunderstandings about who truly drives these decisions.
“Now, on the oil fuel price, a journalist asked me, and I said, it’s not President Tinubu who fixed that price. And one of the journalists asked me, ‘Is it not President Tinubu who signed and approved it?’ His table is so wide, so he treats files; when he is treating files, whatever has been passed to him by people, some may be half-truths, he will sign.”
Soberekon passionately called on the president to lower the fuel price to a minimum of N700 per litre, emphasizing that the financial burden on citizens is becoming unbearable.
He remarked, “How can the people pay this huge amount of money for fuel? It’s a complete breakdown. I’m calling on President Tinubu now to bring down the fuel price to N700 per litre. That’s the seven letters of Nigeria’s spelling or Oloibiri, where oil was found. Believe me, the earlier President Tinubu does that, the better.”
His fervor extended beyond mere appeals; Soberekon expressed a willingness to sacrifice for the cause.
“I am saying President Tinubu must bring down the fuel price, not due to confrontation and others. For me, my style is to give my life. I gave my life to the people. I will also commit suicide if President Tinubu does not bring down the fuel price to N700 per litre and I know he is a good President who will not like his subject to die, he will do something about it. But, I condemn any demonstrators, any confrontations, to force him to bring down the fuel price. Fuel prices must come down.”
He further criticized the concept of oil subsidies, questioning the fairness of charging the same price for fuel in the Niger Delta, a region that produces oil.
“And oil subsidy, how can we subsidize oil price? While we produce oil in the Niger Delta, we pay the same price. Why must we pay the same price? So it is wrong for us to pay the same as other Nigerians. We want different prices in the Niger Delta area that produces oil, like N500 per litre while the rest of Nigeria pays N700 per litre. And our crude oil must not be sold with Nigerian cash, it’s dollars. Nowhere in the world is crude oil sold in naira. They must not joke with our income.”
Soberekon did not hold back in his critique of petroleum marketers, whom he described as contributing significantly to the rising fuel prices.
“All these marketers are petroleum touts. When we were celebrating oil discovery in Oloibiri, there were no marketers. These petroleum marketers, I describe them as touts. They are responsible for the upward hike in fuel prices. They (petroleum marketers) should give way and not make things difficult for the masses.”
In light of the ongoing challenges, Soberekon asserted that President Tinubu should retain control of the petroleum portfolio.
“The President must not leave the petroleum portfolio for anybody. The petroleum portfolio is under the control of the President. So, he must not leave it for anybody. They will steal Niger Delta products. And the privatization is illegal; the President should review it.”
On another note, Soberekon called for the release of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra warning against the misuse of the Biafra cause to incite violence in Rivers State.
“The Igbos are misusing Biafra and terrorizing people up to now, in River State. Igbos have no claim in Biafra; they should stop, and the President should release Nnamdi Kanu. Kanu is a freedom fighter; he’s not a criminal. The President should release him and ban him and the Igbos not to talk about Biafra anymore.”
He recounted a notable statement from October 2017, when John Nani Nwodo, the President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo, emphasized that the region sought restructuring rather than an independent Biafra, illustrating the complexity of the ongoing discourse surrounding this sensitive issue.
