On Tuesday, a further hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, or PMS—more commonly known as gasoline—at the pump shocked Nigerians.
The era of gasoline subsidies will end, according to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who made the announcement in his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023.
Although the subsidy programme was in effect for the entire month of June, oil marketers quickly changed their rates to N500 and higher per litre of petrol.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Limited, NNPCL, however, declared another rise less than two months after that one, attributing it to market forces.
It happens as people are still suffering from the impacts of the May 29 increase, which caused the price of petrol at the pump to jump from roughly N197 per litre to over N500.
Following the May 29 increment, many Nigerians had parked their cars and switched to commercial vehicles, which they thought were more affordable. Others sold their automobiles.
Transportation costs, food costs, other commodities, and the cost of basic services have all skyrocketed.
It sells for N617 and higher in Abuja, the capital of the nation, particularly at NNPC filling stations.
That cannot be true about other cities, though.
While many filling stations in Ogun State, for instance, are not dispensing, those that have begun operations are charging N650 per litre.
Usman Adeola, an irate cab driver in the region, said, “It is not good, Nigerians are just made to suffer every day. Our kids are in school, but we haven’t paid their tuition, we haven’t finished the rent, and it’s difficult for us to even buy food.
“I haven’t eaten anything today, I swear to God Almighty. I’m a cab driver, and I’m standing in line. The owner of the car is anticipating everyday returns.
We had hoped for a change, a departure from the policies that burdened us under the Buhari administration, said Ondo state civil servant Yemisi Oladapo, who also expressed his dismay at the development.
However, we now find ourselves in a similar situation. This is reprehensible and blatantly a betrayal of the confidence of the people, he said.”
A dealer named Tunde Akinkunmi claimed, “When I came to the filling station and I heard that petrol is now N617, I believed I was in a trance. I have to notify you that this is illegal.
“We were not informed in advance of this evil deed. They unexpectedly raised the price after waking up.
In Kwara State, the cost per litre ranges from 559 to 617, whereas in Niger State, it costs between 617 and 620 Naira.
In Ebonyi State, a litre costs N620 in the city while buyers in rural areas pay between N650 and N700 per litre. In neighbouring Enugu, only a small number of filling stations offered the product at prices between N550 and N620; many others closed as soon as the price increase was announced.
Mr. Samson Okoro, a resident of Enugu in the Coal City State, claimed that by placing the cart before the horse, the government has forced its people into needless hardship.
The government should have revived our refineries first; doing so should have come before cutting off subsidies.
“You can’t rely entirely on imports, but you’re fast to cut off subsidies—you saw where it got us.
“I advise the administration to rethink the entire procedure because it will eventually reach a point where the populace will revolt if it is continued.
He warned, “The suffering is intolerable; something must be done about it, and very quickly too.”
A gallon costs N600 in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, N595 to N600 in Abia, N650 in Imo, N600 to N620 in Akwa Ibom, N617 to N640 in Rivers, N610 to N650 in Kaduna, N580 to N650 in Oyo, N620 to N630 in Cross River, and N617 in Lokoja, the capital of Kogi state.
The new price rise was originally confirmed to DAILY POST on Tuesday by Elder Chinedu Okoronkwo, National President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
He asserts that market forces will continue to cause fuel prices to change.
“With the removal of fuel subsidies, that is the system we are in. Based on market forces and changes in the dollar on the foreign currency market, prices will continue to change. We are promoting a fuel alternative because of this, he said.
On the increase, the NNPCL and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, concur.
They argued that the government was no longer in a position to control the commodity’s market price.
After a private meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima on Tuesday in Abuja at the Presidential Villa, NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Malam Mele Kyari, clarified that the price hike for PMS had nothing to do with supply problems.
He tended to attribute it to market factors.
I’m not aware of the specifics at this time. As you are aware, our business has a marketing division that modifies prices in response to market conditions.
And this is what it means to ensure that the market controls itself so that prices occasionally increase and occasionally decrease; this is actually what we are witnessing; this is how the market functions in practise.
“What I know is that market forces will regulate the market, prices will fluctuate occasionally between rising and falling, but there will be supply stability,” he stated.
Alhaji Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer, NMDPRA, claimed that the market sets a product’s price, not the authority.
“As a regulator, you know I told you back in May that we are not going to be setting prices; the market will determine itself. As you saw back in early June when prices came out, they were based on the cost of importation plus other logistics of distribution and of course the profit margin by the importer.
“This market is unregulated and accessible to all players. We have roughly 56 marketing organisations that have applied for and obtained permits to import, as I indicated also yesterday (Monday) when I was in Lagos,” he said.
According to DAILY POST, the over N100 increment has drawn widespread public outrage, particularly given the unresolved palliatives issue.
The Nigeria Labour Congress, or NLC, promptly opposed the rise, accusing the administration of starving the poor while enriching the wealthy.
It also rejected the N8,000 in palliatives for the nation’s 12 million households, which has since been suspended.
In a statement, NLC President Joe Ajaero referred to the proposal as “robbing the poor to pay the rich.”
Ajaero continued by saying that because a National Steering Committee had not been established, it had lost interest in the federal government’s Committee to mitigate the effects of the reduction of gasoline subsidies on Nigerians.
“There is no other way to explain the proposal to pay a misery sum of N8,000 Naira to each of the mysterious poorest 12 million Households for six months which amounts to N48,000 and pays just 469 National Legislators N70b or about N149m each, while the Judiciary that has about 72 Appeal Court Judges, 33 National Industrial Court Judges, 75 Federal High Court Judges and 21 Supreme Court Judges and a total of about 201 Judges receives a total of N35b or N174m each.
“If these other two arms are expected to receive this, it would be best to leave it up to Nigerians’ imaginations as to what members of the Executive Council will receive; perhaps the remaining N150 billion will go to them.
“NLC would not want to continue taking part in the routine farce of Committees whose recommendations are never put into action. The message partially states, “We would not want to spend the time of Nigerians, particularly workers on Committees that have already been programmed to fail and hence ignored.
The Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, similarly criticised the Federal Government harshly while bemoaning the extent of the people’s suffering.
The National Secretary of NUJ, Shuainu Usman Leman, released a statement in which he expressed alarm over the recently announced increases in the Pump Prices of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) to N617 per litre in Abuja and N568 in Lagos.
“The trend has already led to an exponential rise in transportation costs, with food prices skyrocketing practically beyond the means of many citizens even as users of generators for home electricity are already writhing inconsolably under the current circumstances.
“While we support the decision to end the expensive gasoline subsidy, we caution against implementing the policy quickly without first putting mitigation measures in place to lessen the painful consequences.
“We regret that most people today find it difficult to commute to work or other places of business without becoming overly stressed.
“We urge that the situation be reversed immediately while appropriate measures are considered and put in place to lessen the impact on common Nigerians because we believe that this decision is overkill.”
Mr. Mike Osatuyi, National Operations Controller of IPMAN, said Nigerians should anticipate future swings to be determined by market forces during his appearance on Arise TV news show on Tuesday night.
When questioned whether there was a potential that the price will still increase, he responded, “It can also come down.
“We are currently using the old stock, which is becoming exhausted; new products are now being released, which will affect the new price,” he continued.
It could still decrease based on market forces, the dollar, and foreign exchange rates.
“Like in the diesel market, there was a time when it was N800, a time when it was N500, N600, that is what we are going to see, but if crude goes today to N120, N110 dollars per barrel, it is to the benefit of Nigeria because you are going to get more money, but at the same time, we cannot have our cake and eat it too.
“That is why I said transparency in this game is very important so that Nigerians can see what they are using the money for, if we have fast trains, we have transport, the food is cheap,” he continued.
President Tinubu on Tuesday ordered the urgent reconsideration of the proposed N8,000 to 12 million homes in Nigeria as a response to the evident uproar across the nation.
Dele Alake, Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communications, and Strategy, said this in a statement.
Additionally, Tinubu mandated that Nigerians be given access to the full scope of the federal government’s palliative package.
“It is imperative that the N8,000 conditional cash distribution initiative, which is intended to help the most disadvantaged households, be quickly evaluated. This is in remembrance of the opposition from Nigerians.
“That Nigerians be given access to the full range of government palliative packages.
“Immediate distribution of cereals and fertilisers to all 36 states and the FCT’s nearly 50 million farmers and households, respectively.
The President also assures Nigerians that the N500 billion granted by parliament to ease the suffering brought on by the end of the subsidy regime will be wisely used. Nigerians would receive the reliefs, regardless of their ancestry, religion, or political views.
“President Bola Tinubu has pledged to always put the welfare of Nigerians first, and he is firmly dedicated to this commitment. This position has been strengthened by a number of actions made so far by this Administration, according to the presidential spokesperson.
