The former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Prof. Tam David-West, on Monday accused Labour leaders of betraying the masses after agreeing with the Federal Government to peg fuel pump price at N97 per litre.

Labour and their civil society allies had insisted that nothing short of a reversion to the old pump price of N65 per litre would stop the nationwide protests against government’s decision.

However David-West, who had consistently denied that there was fuel subsidy, since, regretted that Labour bent backwards and settled for the new pump price.

The lecturer said, “They have exposed themselves to be suspected, rightly or wrongly, to have been bribed by the government.”

He challenged President Goodluck Jonathan and his ministers to open a debate on the issue.

According to him, both Jonathan and Labour are losers in the new deal. He added that the President was a bad loser, having told the world that the Nigerian economy would collapse should petrol be sold for any price below N141 per litre.

The professor of Virology argued that by ordering a probe into fuel subsidy payments at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, government had accepted that the amount of money it presented to Nigerians as spending on subsidy was false.

He said, “There is no subsidy. What we are subsidising is corruption and fraud.

“What the labour leaders have done is in bad faith because they have exposed themselves to be suspected to have been bribed by the government. After all, they insisted that there was no going back on N65. Labour had a stronger ground than the government.

“Having lost 15 people to the protest, Labour has betrayed the people’s cause. I repeat that peace is better than war. However, peace without justice is no peace.”

David-West joined Labour leaders to lead protests in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital and addressed rallies.





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