Fuel price hike: Senate promises intervention, Afenifere, Reps demand reversal

As Nigerians battle the high price and scarcity of petrol in the country, the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, on Thursday, called on the Federal Government to order the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to reverse the announced increment in price of the commodity.

Also, a member representing Tudun Wada/Doguwa Federal Constituency of Kano State in the House of Representatives, Alhassan Doguwa, urged the Federal Government to mandate the NNPC to revert to the old pump price of petrol.

However, amid calls for the reversal of petroleum product prices, the Senate pledged to address Nigerians’ concerns regarding the recent fuel price hike.

Earlier in the week, fuel scarcity took a turn for the worse as long queues hit major cities, even as black marketers took advantage of the opportunity to sell the product at N1,500 per litre.

In Abuja, the nation’s capital and Lagos, the product sold for N880 at the NNPC mega filling stations, while independent marketers sold for between N950 and N1,200 per litre.

Afenifere, in a statement by its spokesman, Jare Ajayi, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Thursday, asserted that Nigerians were currently going through a lot of challenges as a result of the biting socio-economic crunch and the attendant hardships.

“It is, therefore, a wrong time to come up with any policy that will increase the undesirable challenges Nigerians are going through presently.

“Failure by the NNPC Ltd to reverse the latest increment in fuel price will rub off negatively on some policies of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to ease things for the citizens, especially such policies as the Students Loan Scheme and Consumer Credit Scheme that are just taking off.

“It is crucial, therefore, that the government orders the corporation to reverse the price hike forthwith, as it is already causing untold hardship for the people,” the statement read.

The group contended that it was curious that an organisation that declared a profit running into trillions of naira could, almost in the same breath, claim that it is indebted to the tune of nearly seven billion United States dollars.

It asked, “Why not pay off the debt from the available fund before declaring it as profit?”

The statement further argued that the oil corporation seemed to be making Nigerians pay for its inefficiency.

“It is common knowledge that the cost and availability of energy such as petrol, gas, electricity, diesel and kerosine are major factors, not only in production and services but also in the quality of well-being that Nigerians can enjoy.

“Hikes in prices of these energy sources have astronomically increased the costs of services and commodities, reduced the disposal incomes of average Nigerians and heightened their health risk,” it added.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Doguwa, who chairs the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), described as unacceptable a situation where private companies took advantage of gaps in the system to make arbitrary profits at the expense of Nigerians.

“As a committee, we urge the Nigerian government and, of course, the NNPCL to consider the plight of Nigerians and suspend this recent increase in pump price.

“Nigerians are currently going through a lot today and adding to this burden is not in our collective best interest.

“Let us revert to the old pump price as soon as possible and probably intensify engagements with major stakeholders to address the problem,” he said.

Doguwa, who also serves as the Chairman of the Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalism, pledged the committee’s readiness to tackle the revenue loss caused by crude oil theft.

“As a special committee, we will aggressively seek modalities to interface with the youth and community leaders in the oil-producing areas to address the frequent cases of crude oil theft, which is one of the reasons capable of affecting petrol supply across the country.

“We are working in collaboration with security agencies in their quest to secure oil pipelines and other critical facilities in the country.

“We believe that a return to the old pump price will calm frayed nerves, thus enabling Nigerians to go about their daily activities with ease,” he noted.

The lawmaker also advised Nigerians to give Tinubu a chance to reposition the oil and gas sector, noting that with the Petroleum Industry Act, coupled with the effort to revive the nation’s refineries, Nigeria would in no distant time reap the benefit of its oil and gas endowments to the benefit of the entire citizenry.

The Senate spokesperson, Yemi Adaramodu, speaking with The PUNCH, on Thursday, however, said the Senate would investigate complaints from citizens once the National Assembly resumed.

He assured Nigerians that relevant committees would be tasked with examining all issues affecting the public, stressing that the Senate was committed to supporting Nigerians during these challenging times.

“The Senate will look into any complaints from Nigerians when the National Assembly resumes. The relevant committee shall be charged to attend to all issues that affect the citizens and the Senate shall not abandon Nigerians at times of need, as we are here for them,” he said.

Adaramodu highlighted that the focus would be on the fuel price increase and other constitutional and socio-economic matters impacting the country.

“We are resuming in a few days and shall look into all constitutional and socio-economic issues,” he added.