More troubles arose for the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu following calls by his own party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) for him to resign.
The APC national leader, Bola Tinubu had asked the Minister and Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Kachikwu to apologise to Nigerians over his comment on the fuel scarcity and the complaints from Nigerians.
But on Sunday, the APC National Vice Chairman, South-south, Prince Hilliard Eta called for the resignation of Kachikwu, stating that he (Kachikwu) is still carrying the toga of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a statement made available to the media by the APC National Vice Chairman, he alleged that “Kachukwu has not entirely cast off the orientation of the Peoples Democratic Party 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. Kachukwu 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”.
Denying that there was major rift in the party, APC said: “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 rest.
“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, Mr. Ibe Kachukwu to order owing to the anti progressive statements he made in the Presidential Villa on Wednesday 23 March,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 who government is meant to serve.”
