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The Nigeria Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress, Afenifere,
former federal lawmakers, security experts and rights activists, on
Saturday vowed to resist any attempt by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s
government to further increase fuel price.
They stated this against the background that former and present bosses of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation, expressed fears that the current pump
price of N145 per litre, was no longer feasible.
Past and present Group Managing
Directors of the NNPC, unanimously declared on Saturday that the current
N145 per litre price of fuel was no longer realistic.
They said the amount does not correspond
with the price determining components of the commodity and the
fluctuations of the foreign exchange rate.
They stated this after a one-day meeting
they held with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe
Kachikwu, in Abuja.
The NNPC in its statement said, “They
(the GMDs) noted that the petrol price of N145/litre is not congruent
with the liberalisation policy especially with the foreign exchange rate
and other price determining components such as crude cost, Nigerian
Ports Authority charges, etc remaining uncapped.”
Oil marketers revealed had earlier revealed that the actual or real cost of petrol was N151.87 when all the pricing components are adequately captured.
The marketers had stated that they were
struggling to maintain petrol price at N145 per litre because of the
stiff competition in the downstream oil sector, but stressed that the
practice was not sustainable.
The GMDs, however, commended the NNPC
for resolving the fuel supply crisis and urged the corporation to come
up with measures that will ensure sustenance of seamless supply of
petroleum products nationwide.
According to the corporation, the GMDs
expressed concerns about the declining crude oil production level and
its consequences on the environment and the nation’s revenue.
They further agreed that if the current
situation remains unchecked, it could lead to the crippling of the
corporation and the nation’s oil and gas sector which is the mainstay of
the Nigerian economy.
However, the Nigeria Labour Congress on
Saturday warned the President Muhammadu Buhari administration not to
contemplate any further increase in the pump price of petroleum products
in the country.
Speaking through its General Secretary, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, the NLC said Nigerians would not accept further fuel price increment.
Ozo-Eson had warned the government earlier this week against increasing the pump price of petroleum products in the country.
Ozo-Eson said that it was also up to
Nigerians to decide whether to allow being subjected to the incessant
increase in the fuel pump price or not.
He said, “We had given a warning before that Nigerians cannot take any further increase, that they shouldn’t do it.
“That remains our position, and if they
go ahead and do it, it is up to Nigerians to say how they want to
respond to it. But we remain opposed to any new increase in the price of
petroleum product.”
Also the President of the Trade Union
Congress, Bala Kaigama, warned government not to take Nigerians for
granted because there was no paliatiative in place.
He said, “Nigerians have been taken for
granted a couple of times by the Buhari’s government but things would be
different this time around. We would fight this modern day slavery.”
The National Publicity Secretary of
Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said the masses would resist the hike.
“There is a limit to which you can tax poverty, it is only prosperity
you can continue to make demands on.
“If you are unable to provide an
enabling environment for people to improve their lives and you continue
to tax them wantonly, you risk the rage of the poor,” he said.
On his part, a Second Republic
lawmaker, Junaid. Mohammed said, “I am highly suspicious about NNPC
GMD’s coming up with this suggestion now. Are they saying Nigerians have
not suffered enough?”
The Executive Director of the Civil
Society Legislative and Advocacy Centre: Awual Musa Rafsanjani, said,
the Buhari government was taking Nigerians for granted. “This government
must not take Nigerians for granted,” he said.
Also a security consultant, Ben Okezie,
said the government was pushing Nigerians to the brink with the
planned fuel hike, noting that Buhari may be forced out of power, if he
was not careful.
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