By Shakirudeen Bankole
The administration of president Muhammadu Buhari has come under heavy criticism from some members of the public over the announced increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol.
From what appeared to be the implementation of its planned complete deregulation of the Petroleum Downstream Sector, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company(PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC), on Thursday, ordered the increment of the ex-depot price of PMS.
The Ex-depot price is the price at which the product is sold by the PPMC to marketers at the depots, to N155.17 per litre from N147.67 per litre.
The pronouncement was contained in an internal memo, with reference number PPMC/C/MK/003, dated November 11, 2020, and signed by Tijjani Ali.
The increment is said to take immediate effect. According to experts in the sector, this development will literarily translate to about N7 hike in the fuel pump price per litre, a development which many of those who spoke with The New Diplomat described as ill-timing.
Mr Muyideen Gbadegesin, said whatever may be the benefits of the development, it becomes irrelevant because “it would at the same time bring more suffering to the masses.”
Similarly, Mr. Emmanuel Omonode, a business owner, said the news is bad enough because of the many economic challenges that Nigerians have had to battle, in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic as well as the disruptions that followed the #EndSARS Protest.
He accused the federal government of playing politics with petroleum, an essential commodity, in a bid to make more money and satisfy few private interests.
According to him, “They are paving profitability way for the grand entry of Dangote refined petrol for next year.”
Also, speaking with our reporter, another respondent, Mr Adebayo Christian, an entrepreneur, said the suspicion was that Dangote Refinery is knowingly or unwittingly being prepared to benefit from the whole inconvenience.
He explained: “Foreign Direct Investment in Dangote Refinery Project is so huge that, it may eventually not translate to much gain in terms of price benefit for Nigeria.
“But Lagos will have better deal Also our foreign reserve will gain. Indirectly it will stabilize naira value. This will be so, If Dangote trade with Nigeria with Naira. And trade with others in Dollars. More dollar deposit. It’s a very complex situation.”
Continuing, Christian stressed that “unless greed is out of the whole game, else the impact of the refinary will be minimal in terms of petrol price.”
The new pump price has also exploded the social media, especially Twitter, with many calling for a review of the policy especially at this material time.
