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Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has disclosed that some West African countries pay as much as over ₦1,000 for one litre of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol.
Sule's comment comes amid great hue and cry among Nigerians over the recent astronomical rise in fuel pump prices occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.
Since Tinubu's inauguration speech that sounded the death knell of the subsidy regime, the price of the commodity has gone from ₦190 per litre to between ₦600-₦700 in many parts of the country.
The development has triggered a deluge of complaints and harsh condemnation of the government as citizens continue to gnash their teeth in frustration caused by severe economic hardship.
Sule says government's hands are tied
Commenting on the state of the nation, Governor Sule said the oil industry has been deregulated, and as such, the federal government can no longer determine the price of petrol.
He said this while appearing on Channels Television's Politics Today on Friday, July 21, 2023.
He added that crude oil prices in the international market would continue to dictate fuel pump prices in Nigeria because we're not currently producing the refined product.
“You cannot determine the price of a product you don’t have. Today, we are importing. If we are importing, so many things can happen in the world market today. If there is some kind of crisis in the Middle East, if the price of crude jumps to somewhere around maybe $200 per barrel, this N600 [price for a litre of petrol] will jump.
“Around the year 1999, 2000, and the rest of that, the price of crude was as low as $10 per barrel. If it goes to that, then the price of this product will come down to less than N100 per litre.
“It is a situation of a product we don’t have. If you don’t have you can’t control price. That is the meaning of deregulation.
“Well for your information, in other countries around West Africa, there are places where it is over N1,000 per litre,” Sule said.
₦8,000 can go a long way for some families
The Governor also said the proposed ₦8,000 federal government monthly palliative to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal on the poorest of the poor will go a long way for many families in the country.
“We were sharing only N5,000 and believe me there were so many people that were waiting for that N5,000 every month. Indeed there were some communities that were able to do some kind of contributions and they were able to do a lot in their various communities.
“So, N8,000 may not be so much money to some people, but it is a lot to so many other people who are from very poor families that don’t see N8,000 every month. So, the only thing is that let us identify those families,” Governor Sule argued.