‘Products were shipped two months ago’ — Saraki queries hike in prices of diesel, aviation fuel

Bukola Saraki, former senate president, says there is no justification for the rise in diesel and aviation fuel prices in the country.

In a Twitter post on Monday, the former Kwara governor questioned the rationale behind the increased prices of both products, saying the products must have been “shipped two months ago”. 

According to him, the upturn in prices of these products has affected the “cost of living of all Nigerians”.  

“We have seen prices of diesel go up, we have seen prices of airfare go up as well. As an impact, the cost of food has gone up. Transportation has gone up,” Saraki said. 

“We are going to ask a question. Why has the cost of diesel gone up from N300 to N400 to almost N800 to N900?”

He added that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis did not trigger the upward trend of diesel prices and jet fuels. 

“The cost of jet fuel also has gone up by double when those products clearly must have been ordered, paid for, shipped before this Ukraine war started. It doesn’t make sense,” he said.

“It is just that some people are benefitting at the expense of Nigerians and I think the government and those involved need to come down hard on this. 

“There is no justification for why the price of diesel today and jet fuel should be so high because those products definitely must have been shipped two months ago, and these were not the prices now. Government must step in and defend Nigerians. People should not make money inertia at this point. People are going through a lot of hardship, and we must do something. 

“We must confront this. It doesn’t make sense. I would like someone to justify how two months ago when prices were down, and now you are doubling the prices. It is just opportunistic. We should not allow that to go.”

Recently, Nigerian airlines increased the cost of economy flight tickets for domestic routes from about N35,000 to a base fare of N50,000.

The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), had in February, lamented that the price of aviation fuel, also known as Jet A1, went up to over N400 per litre.

Last Tuesday, TheCable had reported how airlines decried the situation amid rising aviation fuel.

Similarly, the price of automotive gas oil, also known as diesel, had surpassed N600 per litre —after crossing the N500 mark at ex-depot.