July 18, (THEWILL) – Lagos residents are bemoaning the second increase in petrol pump price unveiled Tuesday by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), which caught them unawares.
The NNPC retail outlets on Tuesday increased pump price of petrol in Abuja, Jos and Lagos from N488/litre to N617/litre
This is coming forty-eight days after the federal government on May 31, announced the removal of the controversial petrol subsidy with different prices applying to parts of the country.
The action caused a 150 percent increase in the cost of the commodity from the official price of 195/litre to N488/litre at the NNPC retail outlets.
The latest increase has worsened the high transport fare triggered by the May 31 petrol pump price increase across the state, causing many commuters to walk long distances to their destinations.
Motorists and commuters who spoke to THEWILL in different parts of the city lamented over the toll the new fuel pump price would take on their meagre income amid spiraling inflation.
Motorists interviewed at the popular Iyana-Ikpaja park said it would be difficult for them to remain in business without passing the high cost of petrol to their passengers.
“It is very sad and painful that we have to go this way. How can you buy fuel at close to N700 per litre and make gain from your business after settling the chains of ‘Agneros’, police and area boys?” asked Bayo Akindele, a commercial bus operator.
Commuters at Oshodi expressed disappointment and fear over the second increase in fuel price which is coming less than two months after the first one was announced in May.
“We the poor people are in trouble, big trouble. I don’t know where they want the poor people to go in this country,” said Debora Edward, a petty trader.
Passengers spoken to at the Obalende terminal of the Lagos State-supervised urban transport firm, the Bus Route Terminal (BRT), said they had to wait in the long queue to board the buses because the fair is cheaper.
A female official of BRT line who would not want her name disclosed said the state government might review the existing tariff upwards if price of petrol and other things continue to increase.
“This is Nigeria, when there is a price increase in petrol, it is bound to affect every other thing because it is the same economy. We are in real trouble in this country,” she said.
While the NNPC has not given the reason for the latest pump price increase,the National Operations Controller, Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mike Osatuyi, has been quoted as saying that the depreciation in the value of the Naira was responsible for the hike in petrol price.
“It is not about the NNPC Limited. It is about the market fundamentals. Every marketer stands alone with its different cost elements.
“The low value of the Naira is currently impacting the market. It is now more than N800 to a dollar.
“This is why the market is responding this way. It has to spread because, as operators, our price depends on our cost.
“Even though some importers have been able to import the product, it cannot be cheap because it is based on the current market fundamentals, especially foreign exchange.
“The public should also know that importers source their foreign exchange from the banks at the current rate,” Osatuyi told journalists in Lagos.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
