The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria has cautioned the federal government on its proposed hike in the price of petroleum, warning that such step would worsen the suffering of the already impoverished majority of Nigerians.

The President of PFN, Bishop Wale Oke, therefore called on the government to shelve the proposed policy in order not to worsen the hardship and trigger crisis in the country.

Oke, who stated this in a statement issued on Sunday on the proposed subsidy removal, warned further that implementing such  the proposed price hike would lead to a corresponding hike in the prices of goods and services, which would increase the hardship currently being experienced by the people of the country.

The cleric noted that prices of foodstuffs and other daily needs are increasingly going out of reach of the people, noting that if the proposed subsidy removal was effected, it would exacerbate the hardship of the people of the nation, adding that the Nigerian situation was very bad because of the steady decline in the purchasing power of citizens as a result of the continuous fall in the value of the nation’s currency.

The statement read, “Everybody will feel it, particularly the less privileged. The negative effects will surely outweigh the positive.

“The cost of transportation for human and goods across the country will skyrocket and other things connected which will have a spiral effect on general living standard of the populace; the suffering will be multi-dimensional. Please let all stakeholders be sensitive to this avoidable path and do the needful.

“By whatever means, let the Federal Government put its heart into ensuring that our refineries are back to life. In addition, in order to stem the rising cost of living, farmers and others connected to them should be encouraged. This is what can help our economy.”

He said the PFN would always support policies that would enhance good governance, but charged the government to this effect to put in place tangible palliative measures that could ameliorate the hardship being experienced.

He said, “Without begging the issue, there should be well defined palliative measures in place that can cushion the effect of the hardship being experienced by Nigerians, especially the commoners. One is not talking about political palliatives that never last. We have seen enough of such.

“An increase in the price of petroleum from its present N165 to N340 per litre can trigger tension and crises in the country which in turn can paralyse our economy if not handled with utmost care.

He also criticised the planned payment of N5,000 to 40 million poor to cushion the expectant hardship from the price hike, warning that it could open another  channel of corruption.

“How do you define the poor? They mostly, don’t use telephones. They, mostly, don’t have bank accounts. How will the money get to them?” he queried

Oke advised the government to be wary of policies that could jeopardize the conduct of the 2023 general elections, insisting that all hands must be geared towards steering the wheel of the country to safety.