Reps demand reversal of petrol price hike

The house of representatives has asked the federal government to reverse the recent hike in petrol price.

The lawmakers also demanded a rollback in the price of cooking gas.

The lower legislative chamber passed the resolution during plenary session on Wednesday following the adoption of a motion co-sponsored by Kingsley Chinda, minority leader; Aliyu Madaki, deputy minority leader, and 109 lawmakers.

On October 9, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited increased the price of petrol across its retail outlets nationwide.

Moving the motion, Madaki said in recent months, the prices of petrol and cooking gas have “skyrocketed and continue to so do”, creating an “unsustainable financial burden” on ordinary Nigerians.

He said the removal of fuel subsidy, coupled with global oil price volatility and the depreciation of the naira have contributed significantly to the rising cost of petrol and cooking gas for many households.

The lawmaker noted that the escalating petrol and gas prices are impacting the cost of transportation, food, essential goods and healthcare, and further “pushing many families into deeper financial hardship”.

“Businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling to manage their operational costs due to increased fuel prices, threatening economic stability and job security,” Madaki said.

He said federal government’s efforts to repair domestic refineries and boost local refining capacity to address the petrol crisis has not delivered significant results.

The legislator said the unchecked inflationary pressure caused by the increased prices of these essential items “can lead to social unrest, increased poverty rates, and negative long-term”.

Madaki said unless urgent steps are taken to control the rising cost of petrol and cooking gas, the nation “will go into an economic crisis leading to negative outcomes like increased crime rate and mortality rate”.

THE DEBATE

Sada Soli from Katsina opposed the motion, arguing that it is not relevant as a joint ad hoc committee of the house and senate is already investigating the issue.

George Ozodinobi from Anambra said that the recent petrol price hike has significantly undermined the impact of the newly approved N70,000 minimum wage.

“Our people cannot transport their farm produce to the market and because of that (petrol price hike),” he said.

”There is an increase in the prices of food we must pressure the government. We also need to review our OPEC policy. We don’t have to be in OPEC because that is the only way we can address this issue.”

Olumide Osoba from Ogun proposed that the motion should referred to the joint ad hoc committee of the house and senate.

Following extensive debate, the motion was adopted when it was put to a voice vote by Tajudeen Abbas, the presiding officer.

Consequently, the house asked the federal government to “take immediate steps to stabilise petrol and cooking gas prices through targeted interventions such as temporary price relief measures, tax reductions, or subsidies on LPG for low-income households”.

The green chamber also urged the NNPCL, ministry of petroleum resources and other relevant agencies to expedite the repair and maintenance of domestic refineries.

The house  urged the NNPCL to boost local refining capacity as a stop-gap measure to reduce the dependence on imported refined petroleum products.

The lower legislative chamber asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement monetary policies that will mitigate the adverse effects of fuel price hikes on inflation, particularly on essential goods.