BY Bunmi Aduloju
The minority caucus in the house of representatives has asked the federal government to urgently review the price of the premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, downward to prevent further hardship in Nigeria.
In a statement on Tuesday, Kingsley Chinda, leader of the minority caucus, said the average person was being severely impacted by the current cost of petrol.
On September 15, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited released the estimated pump price of petrol based on prices set by the Dangote refinery.
NNPC said petrol will be sold at N950.22 per litre across all its retail outlets in Lagos.
However, residents in the northern part of Nigeria will pay more for the product, with those in Borno expected to pay the highest petrol pump price of N1,019.22, while the product will be sold at N999.22 per litre in the federal capital territory (FCT), Abuja.
Chinda said the apprehensions of the caucus were mounting concerning the declaration made by NNPC.
“We find this pricing regime to be not only burdensome, but utterly unacceptable, particularly in light of the fact that this fuel is refined locally,” he said.
“The pricing of locally refined fuel should be significantly lower than imported fuel, as it lacks the incidental costs associated with landing charges, import duties, and other taxes.
“Any fuel pricing regime that disregards these factors appear to be designed to unfairly exploit Nigerians, especially at a time when the average citizen is already grappling with severe economic challenges.
“We call on the Executive, relevant regulatory bodies and all concerned stakeholders to urgently review this pricing framework to ensure that Nigerians are not subjected to unjust and unsustainable fuel prices.”
Chinda said the caucus remains dedicated to safeguarding the welfare of Nigerians and would continue to engage all necessary actors to ensure fair pricing that reflects the true value of local refining.
The lawmaker said the current pricing arrangement, if allowed to persist, would only worsen the economic hardship experienced by Nigerians.
He explained that it would further undermine trust in the ability of local refineries to provide affordable solutions to the nation’s petrol needs.
Chinda said the duty of stakeholders, both public and private enterprises, in the energy sector was to serve Nigerians — not to profiteer at their expense.
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