The rising price of petrol following the full deregulation of the downstream oil sector continued to generate reactions on Thursday, with the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, urging Nigerians to cut back on the number of cars they own.
The statement by the former Akwa Ibom State governor appeared largely paradoxical as it is no news that it is the practice of Nigeria’s elite, the top federal lawmaker not exempted, to own tens of cars in their garages scattered all over the nation and even abroad.
But with the full deregulation of the downstream segment of the petroleum sector this week, independent petroleum marketers on Thursday set their prices at between N1,200 to N1,400 in some parts of the country, THISDAY checks showed.
The soaring price of the product continued as the Senate on Thursday assured Nigerians that it would assess the current increment in the prices of fuel in the country and intervene only if necessary.
In the same vein, on Thursday, the leadership of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) asked the federal government to consider subsidising crude oil supply to local refineries as well as special foreign exchange rates for domestic oil supply.
In several parts of Nigeria on Thursday, including Abuja, Port Harcourt, Warri, Oshogbo, Kano and Kaduna, petrol was sold far beyond the new threshold the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) set for its customers on Wednesday.
The state-owned oil company had increased the official pump price of petrol in its retail outlets to N1,030 per litre in Abuja from the N897 it announced on September 3 and from N855 to N998 in Lagos.
This meant that in the less than 17 months of the current administration, the price of the fuel has risen by over 430 per cent from May 29 when President Bola Tinubu took over the leadership of Nigeria.
But the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who advised Nigerians to do away with some of their vehicles over skyrocketing fuel prices, gave the assurance that the lawmakers would step in only if needed.
Akpabio, who spoke while addressing journalists after the inauguration of a remodelled press centre in the National Assembly complex, explained that the nation’s oil and gas sector had been fully deregulated hence market forces would henceforth determine the price of fuel.
He urged Nigerians to embark on belt tightening measures pending when plans being put in place to increase the supply of the products across the country materialise.
He said: “On the recent increase in pump price of petroleum, I haven’t actually assessed what is happening in terms of pump price increase, but it’s not pump price increase, it’s deregulation.
“If you are taking away the consumer subsidy and then you want people to pay for the actual price of what we consume, it means if you have five cars you will now use one or two.
“It simply means that you are going to stop the idea of subsidy in order to make sure that the monies are used for other things. So I don’t expect any increase in pump price.
“I will expect the market forces to determine prices. I would expect that now that the NNPC is no longer going to bring petroleum products into the country, it means those who have the capacity will bring it and the more the products are available, the cheaper the price....Read Full Article [Click Here>]
“So at the beginning, it may seem to be an increase in pump price, but I believe strongly that with the production from Dangote and other refineries when they become functional and the fact that it is now open to all to bring in products into the country, I can assure you that we may not even see lower pump prices.
“So please let’s not dwell on the increase in pump price. We will assess it and if there is need for us to intervene we will intervene.”
Akpabio further assured Nigerians that the Senate would ensure their comfort in the best way possible.
“There is no point offering services to Nigeria if we are not prepared to improve on the lot of Nigerians. The 10th Senate is very prepared to change the paradigm and ensure that the future of Nigeria is better than what it is today.
“I pledge before you that working collectively, we will make legislations and the right motions and intervene with the intention to build a better future for all Nigerian children, those born and yet unborn.
“When I say that brighter days are ahead, it simply means that all the wrongs that kept the country where it is will be corrected,” the Chairman of the National Assembly stated.
However, amid concerns over the debilitating impact of rising cost of petroleum products in the country, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) has asked the federal government to consider subsidising crude oil supply to local refineries.
As part of measures to ensure positive gains from deregulation, it said that all petroleum products marketers should be given equal opportunity both to access products from Dangote Refinery and other sources.
The union also said that the federal government should intervene with measures to strengthen the Naira over major foreign currencies such as the Dollar and Pounds as a means of arresting the high inflation rate currently ravaging the country.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday on the state of the nation, TUC’s President, Festus Osifo said the policy of full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector was not bad in itself.
He argued that what was responsible for the continuous hike in prices of products including PMS is the ill-advised floating of the Naira, maintaining that the country’s currency is presently undervalued compared to other currencies.
Speaking on the economic indices that effect the pump price of petrol in the country, Osifo said that because crude oil is sold at international price, products from domestic refineries tend to be affected by volatility of the foreign exchange market.
“Like I said here, if government today makes a special intervention in that sector by pegging foreign exchange rate for crude supply to Dangote Refinery at 1,200 Naira to a dollar, PMS price is going to crash much more below N700 per litre of PMS.
