October 21, (THEWILL) – Sensing trouble in the days ahead, the House of Representatives last Wednesday directed the Federal Government to immediately reverse the old pump price of petroleum products, insisting that the rising costs of petrol and cooking gas pose 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 price 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 the pump price of petrol from N897 per litre to N1,030 in Abuja; from N855 to N998 in Lagos; N1,070 in the North-East; N1,025 in other South-West States; N1,045 in South-East and N1,075 in the South-South.
Following the recent hike and fearing a pending hike again in the face of arguments over proper pricing between NNPC and Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, organised labour and Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce Industry Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA urged the government to revert to the pre-Dangote Refinery era price regime.
Moving the motion on Wednesday, Madaki said the 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 costs of petrol 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 of the fact that the rising costs of petrol and cooking gas pose 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 Company Limited (NNPCL), 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.
Urging the government to listen to the growing voices of opposition to its policies that are negatively impacting the citizens, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) at the weekend threw its weight behind the House of Representatives’ call for the federal government to reverse the recent hike in petrol pump prices and stabilize cooking gas prices.
Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade James Ezema, the CNPP urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to “immediately reverse the removal of fuel subsidy in totality and end the legislative process of increasing Value Added Tax (VAT) until the Nigerian economy recovers.
According to the CNPP, the removal of fuel subsidies has “exacerbated the financial burden on ordinary Nigerians, with petrol and cooking gas prices skyrocketing in recent months. This has increased inflation, pushing many families into deeper financial hardships and threatening economic stability and job security in the country.”
The CNPP noted that “as an oil-producing country, Nigeria has historically relied on petroleum products and cooking gas as essential sources of energy for both domestic and industrial purposes. However, the recent price hikes have created an unsustainable financial burden on citizens, particularly low-income households.”
The CNPP emphasized that the escalating fuel and gas prices are impacting the cost of transportation, food, essential goods, and healthcare, further increasing inflation and pushing many families into deeper financial hardships.
The CNPP also expressed concern that businesses, “particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are struggling to manage their operational costs due to increased fuel prices, threatening economic stability and job security.”
The CNPP then demanded that the federal government take “immediate steps to reverse the pump price hike and stabilise petrol and cooking gas prices through targeted interventions.”
This includes temporary price relief measures, tax reductions, or subsidies on LPG for low-income households.
The CNPP also urged the Federal Government 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.”
In addition, the CNPP called on “the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement monetary policies that would mitigate the adverse effects of fuel price hikes on inflation, particularly with regards to essential goods and services.”
The umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in the country encouraged the federal government to “explore alternative energy sources and diversify the country’s energy mix to reduce reliance on petrol and gas, promoting renewable energy solutions that are more sustainable and affordable in the long term.”
Ultimately, the CNPP stressed that the Federal Government must prioritise the welfare and well-being of Nigerians and take concrete steps to alleviate the suffering and hunger among the masses in the country, urging the government to “go after looters and government officials who served in the Muhammadu Buhari Administration and recover trillions of naira stolen from the nation’s treasury under several guises.”
Amos Esele is the Acting Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
