The National Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), South South, Prince Hilliard Eta has called for the immediate resignation of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, over the worsening fuel scarcity and his comments that he is not a magician.
“Kachikwu has not entirely cast off the orientation of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP where he was”, adding that such is still manifesting in his actions and utterances such as the recent one that attracted opprobrium from many Nigerians.
“In the light of the foregoing, Mr. Kachikwu must not be a cog in the wheel of progress and he should do the needful by resigning honourably if he is not capable of doing his part by efficiently running the ministry assigned to him.
“It is important to reiterate here that winning the federal election in 2015 has not eroded the core ideology of progressivism, which we espouse as it is the very foundation on which the party rests.
“This progressive ideology strongly emphasises government as a tool for service to the people, who are the custodians of power in the first instance. In line with this, it is not wrong or out of place for Tinubu to call the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to order owing to the anti progressive statements he made in the Presidential Villa on Wednesday March 23, 2016, while fielding questions from Journalists on the persisting scarcity of petrol.
“Secondly, we in the APC believe that it is proper to immediately correct mistakes or errors committed by any member of the party, no matter how highly placed and we are developing a culture of accountability to Nigerians that government is meant to serve.
“From this perspective, it is, therefore, understandable that Kachikwu’s statement to the effect that he has no solution to petrol scarcity bedevilling the country drew flaks from Tinubu and this does not, in any way imply that there is a crack within the party.
“In African culture, it is seen as irresponsible for an elder to watch a youngsters or an inexpensive person blunder without immediately calling him to order,” Eta said.
