The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has again raised the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol to N1,030 per litre at its retail outlets in Abuja, sparking fears of worse hyperinflation in the country.
The increment is coming barely one month after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) increased the fuel price from N568 to N850 per litre in one year.
The action might have been goaded by a call by the President of Dangote Group and Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, urging total elimination of fuel subsidies in Nigeria.
Major oil marketers will also begin the direct purchase of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery between Thursday and next week as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited pulled out as sole off-taker of the product from the $20 billion plant.
Related news
- Petrol cost: NNPCL, Dangote Refinery in game of thrones on Nigerians
- NNPC hikes Petrol to N511 in Uyo in new price regime
- Dangote Refinery won’t guarantee cheaper refined petroleum products- Rewane declares
Akwa Ibom State is worse hit coming from the rubbles of hikes and sabotage by marketers as fuel cost has again gone higher in less than two weeks after IPMAN and NUPENG called off their strike over faceoff with Joint Task Force which spiralled the cost of fuel from N1500 to N2000 per litre in Uyo and the local government areas.
Unfortunately, the cost of transport fares rose to 200 per cent depending on the distance as passengers paid from their noses amidst paucity of funds in the system.
With the subtle annoucement by NNPCL on Wednesday, prices of goods and services have scourged the hardships on the people following speedy adjustment of metres by filling stations in the state to N1030 per litre like Abuja.
The price hike on Wednesday, follows the termination of NNPC’s exclusive purchase agreement with Dangote Refinery, allowing other marketers to directly purchase petrol from the refinery.
Dangote advocates fuel subsidy withdrawal
In an interview with Bloomberg Television, Dangote elaborated on how the removal of subsidies could aid the government in reducing expenses and revealing accurate petrol usage data in Nigeria.
He indicated that the current subsidy framework artificially raises prices, leading the government to spend excessively. When subsidies are in place, it leads to inflated costs, causing the government to incur unnecessary expenditures.
Dangote listed several nations that have eliminated fuel subsidies, indicating that Nigeria should do the same.
Comparing Nigeria with Saudi Arabia, Dangote noted that although Saudis once benefited from reduced petrol costs through government support, that situation has altered, resulting in Nigeria having less expensive gasoline than Saudi Arabia, which is illogical.
