FG Is Entitled By Law To Fix Kerosene Prices, Among Others—Falana
Falana, however, charged that the Buhari administration had forcibly imposed kerosene deregulation on Nigerians.
Lawyer for human rights Femi Falana said on Sunday that the Federal Government has the right to control the prices of kerosene and other petroleum products.
According to a statement from the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Section 4 of the Price Control Act and Section 316 of the Petroleum Industry Act give the government the power to “set and regulate the prices of petroleum products, such as gasoline, motor spirit, kerosene, and cooking gas.”
Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, said that the government couldn’t stop the rise in kerosene prices. He said that was not true.
Kerosene is a key cooking fuel for Nigeria’s low-income earners and rural residents, making it the continent’s most populous country. Even gasoline, diesel, and gas are more expensive than the product.
In Lagos, diesel costs N808 per litre, while gas costs N202. In the nation’s commercial capital, kerosene is sold for more than N900 per litre while gasoline costs N169.
The minister claimed on Monday that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari lacks the authority to take action on the increasing cost of household kerosene. Sylva said that the government could no longer control the price of kerosene because it had been deregulated. He said this at a press conference in Abuja to show what the Buhari administration has done in the petroleum industry since it took office in 2015.
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“The fuel used by the majority of households, kerosene, has already been deregulated.” It may not always fall under government control, as it is now a business decision. Kerosene will be imported and sold by businesses at a profit. The minister declared that the product was unregulated.
Falana, however, charged that the Buhari administration had forcibly imposed kerosene deregulation on Nigerians.
“With due respect, the Buhari administration illegally pushed out the supposed deregulation of the commodity,” he said.
“It is well known that the Federal Government, acting through the NNPC, is the only party bringing petroleum into the nation while claiming to be subsidising the export of the commodity.” How, then, can the federal government reverse course and permit for-profit businesses or purported market forces to set the price of the same good?
“Throughout July 2020, Chief Sylva stated that compressed natural gas (CNG), an alternative fuel source, will cost between N95 and N97 per litre, making gasoline more accessible in the nation. A year or so later, the Minister said that the Federal Government had set aside N250 billion for willing investors in autogas assembly factories throughout the nation as part of measures to ensure that the conversion of automobiles to run on natural gas produced the intended outcomes. The Federal Government needs to explain to Nigerians why the switch from PMS to CNG was halted.
The senior attorney pleaded with President Buhari to “bring Chief Sylva to order for treating the legal and prevailing judgements of the Federal High Court and the Supreme Court with contempt” in his capacity as minister of petroleum resources.
If not, we won’t think twice about bringing contempt charges against the public officials in charge of the oil sector.
