Monday, October 23, 2017 marked the 530th day since Buhari administration increased the petrol pump price from N87 to N145 per litre. It was ex-President Goodluck Jonathan who had jacked it to N87 a litre. From time to time, the price adjustment became a regular decimal by different administrations just to woo gullible Nigerians to their whims. The solution to price increment is not in sight as demand-supply quotient together with perceived interest of government and other major players in the petroleum industry.
However, statistics show that about 40 million litres of petrol are consumed daily in the country. From May 11, 2016 to October 23, 2016 when the pump price was increased, the consumption level jumped to 21.2 billion litres, meaning that 530 days are multiplied by 40 million litres daily. After subtract N87 from N145, and you get N58 and multiply the sum by 21.2 billion then the sum total is N1.2296 trillion. Altogether, N1,229,600,000,000 is the total sum. This is the extra amount consumers paid above the N87 per litre price.
When Muhammadu Buhari gunned for Presidency, he promised to build more refineries to provide adequate fuel supply to the populace. It was predicted that after paying the government an extra N1.23 trillion, the refineries and the dead ones would be resuscitated. Yet, fuel is still an imported item till today.
What’s more? When crude oil was sold $120 per barrel, consumers bought petrol at N97 per litre. Now crude oil per barrel is sold $55 yet consumers are still buying at N145 per litre. If crude were $120 per barrel today would Buhari retain petrol at N145 per litre or scale it to N300 per litre? So far, consumers have paid an extra N1.23 trillion in 530 days to Buhari administration and it still has 583 days to go. Expectedly, In the next 583 days, another N1.35 trillion would be added to N1.23 trillion already collected.
In fact, the government has arm-twisted consumers to the tune of N1.23 trillion. Between May 11, 2016 (when fuel was N145 per litre) and May 29, 2019 (when Lai Mohammed would have convinced the electorate to give Buhari a second term); the cost implication of changing N87 to N145 would add to N2.58 trillion. Actually, N2,582,160,000,000 is not a small “change.”
Keep the note somewhere for the next 583 days. Then after you might have voted in Buhari again for a second term followed by the swearing in, ask yourself whether N2,582,160,000,000 could have built a refinery or rejuvenated the four ailing ones.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government in fresh move to increase the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, is currently meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and independent oil marketers at the Presidential villa in Abuja.
According to an impeccable source who is at the ongoing meeting, “the interface between the Federal Government and major oil marketers was convened by President Muhammadu Buhari, who had vowed to punish alleged perpetrators of fuel scarcity that brought untold hardship to Nigerians during Christmas celebrations.
It would be recalled that fuel scarcity had persisted in the build up to the Christmas holidays which led to gruelling queues at filling stations across the nation.
Though the FG had repeatedly denied any plans to increase the price of petrol even as it accused oil marketers of trying to force the hand of government to review upwards the pump price of PMS, the source told the Authority that the meeting was called so as to talk the organised labour into agreeing with government to increase fuel price.
“The meeting was not convened to elicit Labour’s input in resolving the fuel crisis, but to just paint a picture to the Nigerian masses that the NLC was part of the decision to jerk-up fuel price, so that in the event that Labour tries to ground the country by way of protests, government would be seen to have played its own part of dialogue,” the source who pleaded not to be named in print disclosed.
The source further revealed that the Federal Government team at the meeting comprised the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources; Dr. Ibe Ukachikwu, Group Managing-Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Dr. Baru Maikanti and officials at the Presidency, while the NLC delegation was being led its National President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba.
Though outcome of the meeting is not yet made public, it is discernible that politics is the underlying current playing out itself in the exploitation and sale of crude oil products in Nigeria. The beneficiaries are the rich in power and in the petroleum industry, while the losers are the poor- the electorate who usually kill themselves, hate fellow brothers and wreck havocs all in a desperate attempt to install kings of the manor who will turn to inflict hardships and sufferings on them.
