More hardship for Nigerians as Buhari targets N250/litre petrol pump price increase

Nigerians would be prepared for more hardship in country as the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari targets N250/litre increase in the pump price of petrol under the guise of removing subsidy after years of the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) claimed subsidy had been removed from petrol price with the different regimes of increases. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had revealed that the landing cost of petrol is about N238/litre, complaining that the corporation pays between N100 billion and N120 billion monthly to subsidise Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), petrol, in the country.

The Buhari administration has over the claimed that the government was removing subsidy each time the price of petrol is increased while the federal government sustained importation of refined petroleum products under the NNPC monopoly.  The government created vendors to disguise as independent marketers to create false belief of market forces.

The Group General Manager (GMD) of the NNPC, Mele Kyari, at the weekly presidential ministerial media briefing on Thursday at the State House, Abuja, said that subsidizing petrol in the country has created overwhelming burden on the NNPC. The GMD declared that the burden of the huge sum being paid as subsidy by the NNPC would shifted to Nigerians, insisting that Nigerians would henceforth pay the actual cost for petrol, notifying citizens of petrol price increase sooner or later.

Kyari claimed that petrol is currently being sold below the cost of importation, adding that the NNPC is compelled to pay the difference.

The attempt of the Buhari administration to increase pump price of petrol to N212.60/litre towards the end of February generated uproar across the country, forcing the NNPC to beguile Nigerians there will be no increase of petrol price in March.

Kyari had declared that the NNPC can no longer bear the monumental cost, noting market forces must be allowed to determine the pump price of petrol in the country in the nearest future.