A member of the New Patriotic Party, Richard Asante Yeboah, has registered his displeasure at the “unconvincing” tactics deployed under President Mahama’s administration to increase the price of petroleum in the face of the ongoing water and electricity crisis which has dwindled productivity in the country.

He maintains that President Mahama would go down memory lane as the “wickedest president” if he has the effrontery to increase the price of fuel which has an indirect effect on all social activities.

Government is set to remove subsidy on Petroleum currently being enjoyed by consumers of petroleum products. The acting Governor of the BoG, Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, at a news conference in Accra, stated that it is crucial for the government to remove fuel subsidies in order to sustain the economic gains attained so far.

He argued that the current high subsidies on fuel are unsustainable and risky to the economy, warning that the pressure related to fuel subsidies, utilities and wage/salary settlements could offset the gains made in macroeconomic stability. According to Dr Wampah, "the magnitude of fuel subsidies and the negotiated wage increment in 2013 could, therefore, pose a risk to the consolidation process."

But appearing as a guest on Okay FM’s 'Ghana Decides' political talk show, Richard Asante Yeboah acknowledged the challenges facing stakeholders in the petroleum sector but insisted the solution did not lie in the removal of the subsidy. He explained that considering the current harsh living conditions in Ghana, it would be unjust for the president and his team to increase the price of fuel which would only benefit few people.

“If President Mahama would be able to stare frustrated Ghanaians in the face and increase the price of petrol under the current circumstance where people can’t even afford their medical bills, he would be the wickedest president in the whole wide-world. If he can do all this in the face of the high import duties and unemployment rate, he would be the wicked president at the moment”, he decried.