APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The long queues that surfaced across Nigerian cities less than 24 hours after Nigeria’s new President Bola Tinubu declared that petrol subsidy has been abolished during inaugural address on Monday, May 29 have not abated.
Motorists now spend not less than eight hours on the queues to buy petrol at the new price of N511 per litre. The commodity was sold for N195 per litre before the inauguration on Monday when the new president was sworn in.
As Nigerians were agonizing over the hike in price of petrol and blaming the authorities, especially the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd for not speaking out and controlling the marketers, who were selling petrol between N300 and N600 a litre, the NNPC came out on Wednesday with a new list of prices for petrol which vary from state to state.
Following the confusion caused by the President’s announcement that the payment of petrol subsidy has been stopped and that no provision was made for it in the budget, the new administration invited the organized labour led by the Nigeria Labour Congress for a meeting to seek ways of resolving the effects of the new stand of the government, was deadlocked on Wednesday. The organized labour has faulted the action of the new president for his failure to consult all the stakeholders before announcing that the payment of subsidy had been stopped in spite of the fact that the 2023 budget provided for the payment up to June this year.
Meanwhile, speaking on the ongoing crisis in the downstream sector of the oil industry since Tuesday May 30, the CEO of the NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari, stated that the current hike in the prices of petrol from N195 per litre to N511 and above depending on the city or location was the actual market prices of the commodity.
He explained that the current prices would be able to attract more players to the market and break the monopoly of the NNPC in the importation and sale of petroleum products in the country.
According to him, the anticipated competition from the other players in the downstream oil sector would force down the price of petrol as against the upward trends that have caused panic among motorists across the country.
He added that the new price regime would also check the smuggling of petrol across the Nigerian borders and that the NNPC has plans to open petrol stations in neighbouring countries to further check smuggling of petrol.
However, some economists have warned of the inflationary effects the current hike in the price of petrol on the economy and wellbeing of Nigerians. They explained that the refusal of the former administration headed by Muhammadu Buhari deliberately shifted the removal of subsidy on petrol because of the controversy surrounding such a decision and the hardship it would impose on Nigerians during an election year.
They also stated that Nigerians were already going through harsh economic environment with high inflationary trend and rising insecurity and that they carefully left it for the incoming administration as a trap that will render the new government unpopular soon after coming on board.
GIK/APA
Nigerian motorists groan as long queues worsen at petrol stations
