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The All Progressives Congress has accused the Peoples Democratic Party-led Federal Government of acting out a clandestine script to increase fuel prices through the back door.

It alleged that the ongoing nation-wide fuel scarcity might have been induced to make higher fuel prices a fait accompli for Nigerians.

In a statement in Lagos on Tuesday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the fact that the scarcity had persisted despite the claims and counter-claims by the government and the oil markers, and the measures purportedly taken by the government to ameliorate the situation, was the clearest indication of official deception.

APC said, The more fuel trucks the government claims to have sent to major cities to ease the scarcity, the more difficult it is for Nigerians to obtain the product. This is an old trick and Nigerians should not be hoodwinked into believing there will be no increase in fuel prices. The only deterrent is to let the government know Nigerians will resist any price hike.

The truth is that with the elections approaching, the PDP-led FG is desperately seeking all possible avenues to raise funds for its usual electoral shenanigans, and increasing fuel prices has always been an attractive option to the government, not minding what the impact will be on the same people it has impoverished since 1999.

APC said the lingering scarcity had forced many Nigerians to pay as much as N120 for a litre of fuel, which, the party alleged, was the benchmark the FG had fixed.

The next refrain from the government will be that only higher prices will guarantee the availability of the product, and that many marketers are unwilling to import the product because of low profit margin. We urge Nigerians not to swallow this bait, the party said.

It commended the Nigeria Labour Congress for its timely warning against any plan to hike fuel prices, saying the Jonathan administrations assurances that fuel prices would not be increased could not be relied on.

The big deception of 2012, when the government slammed a massive price hike on Nigerians on New Years day despite assurances to the contrary, is still too fresh in the memories of Nigerians. The same people who inflicted that pain on Nigerians are still in charge, so no one should trust them, APC warned.

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FG plotting to hike fuel prices -APC