Posted by By Jamie Dominics The Sun Reporter Washington DC. on
The Federal Government may be dangling the offer of more supplies of fuel to the United States to get the George W. Bush administration's backing for another term for President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The Federal Government may be dangling the offer of more supplies of fuel to the United States to get the George W. Bush administration's backing for another term for President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Sources said that the United States Energy Department and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) are already holding talks following a sharp increase in the price of petrol in most American cities that has put President Bush and the Republican Party in a tight corner as the mid-term election that could determine the control of the Senate and House of Representatives approaches.
The political calculation by Aso Rock is that Bush would trade off the third term agenda to save his presidency.
Already, Americans are increasingly turning their backs on Bush with his recent approval rating hitting an all time low. To reverse the trend, Bush has ordered an investigation into possible deliberate cheating of consumers at the pumps by big oil corporations.
White House Press Secretary, Scott McClellan, said the investigation will be handled by the Energy Department, but oil experts said it is unclear what impact the probe would have on prices that are over $3 a litre.
McClellan said, however, that the administration is not suspecting foul play at the pumps. "Well, gas prices are high right now, and that's why you want to make sure there's not."
Republicans, who control Congress, have become concerned that the high cost of fuel could become a problem for them in the November elections. At present, polls suggest that voters favour Democrats over Republicans on the issue and Bush has low marks for handling gasoline prices.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill First have asked Bush to order a federal investigation into any gasoline price hike or market speculation. McClellan, however, said Bush had already done so, but had not revealed it publicly.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada recently dispatched his own letter, calling for a multi-pronged approach to restrain gas prices.
Among the steps recommended were swift enactment of anti-price hike legislation, an appeal to oil companies to refrain from further price increases, use of more alternative fuels and increased attention to existing fuel-saving laws and regulations.
Bush also announced that his attorney general and Federal Trade Commission will send a letter to all 50 state attorneys general, who have primary authority over price gauging, to remind them to stay on top of the issue and offer federal help to do so. And he also called on energy companies to reinvest their profits into expanding refining capacity, developing new technologies and researching alternative energy sources.
Bush has said consistently that gas prices are high because global demand is rising faster than global supply and that the problem cannot be solved overnight.