October 16, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives has directed the immediate reversal to the old pump price of petroleum products, maintaining that the rising cost of petrol and cooking gas poses a significant threat to the livelihood of millions of Nigerians.
Passing a resolution following the adoption of a motion sponsored by Deputy Minority Leader, Aliyu Madaki, along with 111 other members of the House during plenary on Wednesday, the lawmakers demanded an urgent reversal of the hike in the prices of fuel.
They also urged state governments to adopt policies that alleviate the financial burden on their citizens, including the exemption of taxes or levies on transportation and goods affected by high fuel costs.
THEWILL reported that the NNPC, last week Wednesday, hiked petrol pump prices from N897 per litre to N1,030 in Abuja; from N855 to N998 in Lagos; N1,070 in North-East; N1,025 in other South-West States; N1,045 in South-East and N1,075 in South-South.
Moving the motion on Wednesday, Madaki said hike in the prices of petrol and cooking gas has created an “unsustainable financial burden on ordinary Nigerians and exacerbated the cost of living.”
Noting that the removal of fuel subsidy, coupled with global oil price volatility and the depreciation of the naira, has contributed significantly to the rising cost of petrol at the pump and cooking gas for households, Madaki expressed concern that the escalating fuel and gas prices are impacting the cost of transportation, food, essential goods, and healthcare.
According to him, these developments have led to increasing inflation and pushed many families into deeper financial hardship.
The lawmaker also lamented that businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are struggling to manage their operational costs due to increased fuel prices.
He recalled that the Federal Government had announced plans to repair domestic refineries and boost local refining capacity to address some of these issues but has yet to deliver significant results in this regard.
“Mindful that the rising cost of petrol and cooking gas poses a significant threat to the livelihood of millions of Nigerians and that unchecked inflationary pressure caused by the increased prices can lead to social unrest, increased poverty rates, and negative long-term economic effects; also worried that unless urgent and pragmatic steps are taken to control the rising cost of petrol and cooking gas, the nation will go into an economic crisis leading to negative outcomes like increased crime rates and mortality rates”, he stated.
Following brief debates on the motion, the House directed reversal of the recent pump price hike.
They also urged the government to take immediate steps to stabilise petrol and cooking gas prices through targeted interventions such as temporary price relief measures, tax reductions, or subsidies on LPG for low-income households.
The House called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ministry of Petroleum Resources, and other relevant agencies to expedite the repair and maintenance of domestic refineries and increase local refining capacity as a stop-gap measure to reduce dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
The lawmakers also mandated the House Committees on Petroleum Downstream and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance and report back to the House within two weeks for further legislative action.
