Petrol: Nigerians Suffering Cost Of Existence Crisis, FG Must Intervene – Experts

According to experts, petroleum prices, which are around N1 100 per liter, are beyond the national minimum wage’s (NIC) affordability threshold.

On Channels Television’s Friday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political program, Mojeed Dahiru and Ayo Akinfe were guests.

The government must immediately intervene “so that Nigerians can enjoy the benefits of being citizens of an oil-producing country,” they claim because the unprecedented increase in the prices of gasoline has impoverished Nigerians, decreased productivity, and caused a serious economic crisis.

Because “energy security is a matter of national security,” they claimed market forces shouldn’t be able to control gasoline prices.

Dahiru said, “When we talk about the affordability component, I am an apostle of subsidy. Every country must set the affordability threshold for energy prices for citizens, in my opinion, because energy is the engine of the economy.

What oxygen or air is to the economy is what oxygen or air is to the living thing. Therefore, I don’t think market forces should always dictate the price of energy.

“I am aware that the cost of importation can be very high because of the amorphous nature of importation itself, but now that refineries are operating from home, it is simple to intervene, either on the production or utilisation side. Regardless of whether or not we as a country like it, we must still engage in discussion about how to reduce the cost of the product for Nigerian citizens.

” In the UK, it is called the cost of living crisis. I can assure you that the situation in Nigeria is one of cost-of-living. Energy security is a national security issue, so the government must assume this responsibility. So, the government has a responsibility to intervene in pricing. “

READ ALSO: &nbsp, Old P’Harcourt Refinery Working At 90%, Not 70% — NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) should make sure the new Port Harcourt Refinery, the Warri Refinery, and the Kaduna Refinery all come on stream as a result of the Old Port Harcourt Refinery’s operationalization, according to the newspaper columnist.

Ayo Akinfe, the head of the Central Association in the United Kingdom, believes that nothing prevents each of the federating units from running a refinery to increase product availability.

Cabals have created artificial scarcity to raise prices, as they have done in Nigeria. If you have 20 to 30 refineries, that’s full capacity and it will fall prices down.

“Ultimately, we need government policies that encourage investors to open refineries. For instance, we have 36 states. I don’t understand why there shouldn’t be at least one refinery to supply the needs of every state. That will bring prices down”, he said.

According to Bretton Woods institutions, the naira’s floating and energy subsidies have been pushed aside by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, claiming that the two economic policies have caused severe inflation pressures for Nigeria.

President Bola Tinubu abolished the gasoline subsidy and the naira after his inauguration in May 2023. Petrol prices more than quadrupled, soaring from less than N200 per litre to over N1, 100 in many parts of the country. The naira also took a nosedive, wobbling from around N700/ $to N1, 600.

Source: Channels TV