Editor’s Note: The government of Nigeria has not increased the pump prices of petrol across the country. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, disclosed this in a statement issued by his senior adviser on media and communication, Horatius Egua: “There is no reason for President Muhammadu Buhari to renege on his earlier promise not to approve any increase in the price of petroleum motor spirit (PMS) at this time.”
The federal government of Nigeria has once again ‘quietly’ increased petrol pump price to more than N185 per liter, over 8.8 percent lift from the previous price of N170.
The increase, which also saw ex-depot prices shoot up from N148 to N167 per liter, comes amidst persistent fuel scarcity that has forced an increase in transport fares across the country.
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In a notice to fuel marketers on Wednesday, the government directed that the new price should take immediate effect. However, N185 is for Lagos only, while other regions of the country have different prices to pay per liter. The price per liter is N190 within the Southwest, South South and North Central zones, N195 per liter in the South East, FCT and North West zones, while the commodity is expected to sell for N200 per liter in the North East.
The increase has stirred different reactions across the country. Fuel has been on sale for N200 to N300 per liter since last year, despite subsidy payments that gulped N6.4tn from the 2022 budget.
The National Operations Controller, of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Mike Osatuyi, said his members lift the product at N240 per liter.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had fixed June 2023 to totally remove fuel subsidy, a move that has been advocated as a panacea to fuel scarcity.
Critics believe there has been largely no difference between the price of unsubsidized fuel and what Nigerians are paying now for it. On Thursday, the Lagos State Government announced a plan to regulate the activities of petroleum marketers in the state. The move, which will see filling stations selling fuel from 9:00 a.m to 4:00 p.m, is geared toward curtailing perennial traffic congestion that has been unleashed in the state by long queues of motorists looking for fuel.
Another effect of the fuel scarcity is the high cost of goods and services, stoked by the increase in transport fares.
It is expected that the new pump price will be resisted. Organized Labour has expressed its disappointment over the increase, describing it as “shocking.” Vanguard quoted a top labour official who spoke on anonymity, urging Nigerians to resist it.
“It is shocking that this government has decided to add to the suffering of Nigerians in the midst of unbearable hardship occasioned by anti-people’s policies of the government.
“This increase is totally rejected and unacceptable to organised labour and the entire suffering Nigerian masses. We see this increase as the last kick of a dying regime and Nigerians are not ready to die with the regime. We cannot continue on this lane. The government cannot continue to use its failures to punish Nigerians.
“We have an understanding that we are not going to talk about any of the issues until the local refineries are functioning. It is wicked, insensitive and the height of provocation.
“We are not only going to resist the Nigerian masses, but the Nigerian workers and the ordinary Nigerians will also express their frustration at the polls. The increase has reinforced the belief that Nigerians must take our destinies into our hands,” he said.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has repeatedly led other trade unions to resist attempts by the government to hike pump price through strikes. It’s not clear if the unions will embark on industrial action this time.
Volume of Petrol Drops
He said the country is in a complex situation owing to the burden of subsidy that the government is carrying which is no longer sustainable.
He noted that the importation of petroleum products by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Limited affects the government’s revenues.
“Sometime in July and August, the volume of lifting we had and what we have today has dropped by about 40 per cent or 50 per cent,” Mr Mustapha said.
He noted that the lingering presence of queues at fuel stations across the country could be due to the high cost of the subsidy.