The President, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Laoye Jaiyeole, said, “It is already leading to inflation. It is a tough time, no doubt, but what is critical is for us to begin to act quickly. Let me tell you something, in 2015 before the first inflation in 2016, we saw this coming and at NESG we gave them three scenarios.
“We asked that there are difficult decisions the nation needs to take and we didn’t take them, we ran away from them, maybe if we had taken those decisions it may not be as bad as this. Now the tough choices are being taken and I must confess they are tough.
“Giving succor to those that are less privileged is one, but you know we cannot continue to share money, we have to boost production. By boosting production it means we are going to ask ourselves what we are going to do about food and the productive sector. How do we ensure that we have electricity?”
He stated that if Nigeria starts refining crude oil, it would reduce the pressure on the exchange rate.
Bayelsa State was also hit by the sudden hike in the pump price of petrol as some independent oil marketers operating in the state increased the cost of the product from N515 to N595/litre.
Checks showed that filling stations operated by the NNPCL and PADOS along the Sani Abacha Expressway and the Isaac Boro Expressway in Yenagoa had started selling fuel at N595/litre.
However, Rainoil facilities located along the Mbiama-Yenagoa Road and the Isaac Boro Expressway increased their pump price of the product to N591/litre, while SOBAZ re-adjusted their meter to reflect N590/litre.
It was observed that some of the independent sales outlets did not open for business.
ANN gathered that the petrol stations sold the product at N515/litre as of Monday and Tuesday morning before news of the current increase in pump price filtered into town.
A filling station attendant at one of the facilities, who did not want his name mentioned, said that they received instructions from their head office to re-adjust the meter to reflect the new price.
Oil marketers insisted that petrol price would hit N700/litre once fresh products being imported by independent firms start arriving Nigeria
The National Controller, Operations, Independent Marketers Association of NIgeria, Mike Osatuyi, reaffirmed this on Tuesday.
According to him, Lagos residents should prepare to buy petrol for as high as N600/N620/litre, while those living up North could pay as high as N700/litre.
Osatuyi’s insistence came on the heels of a recent report by The PUNCH, where he predicted that the price would reach N700/litre.
His prediction was, however, greeted with uproar, with many labour unions describing the prediction as “insensitive”, and a ploy by marketers to hike petrol price.
Osatuyi, however, stood by his words, as he stated that with crude oil price already attaining $82/litre at the international market, and the exchange rate around N800/$, the pump price would definitely attain around N700/litre.
“The new stock will arrive any moment from the third week in July. But you know crude is now around $82/barrel, and the exchange rate is around N800. So, the new price would be determined by these two factors,” he said.
Abuja motorists lament
Motorists in the Federal Capital Territory, on Tuesday, decried the hike in petrol price, as transporters increased their fares following the new pump price.
It was observed that the transport fare from Lokogoma Bus-Stop to town increased from N300 to N400, while the fare from Galadimawa Junction to Lokogoma increased from N150 to N250.
Similarly, the cost from Airport Junction to Wuse increased from N300 to N400, while the fare to Lugbe from Airport Junction jumped from N300 to N400.
Danladi Usman, an FCT resident, said, “Many of us may not be coming out all the time again because how do we calculate the transport and our profit? Some of us also deliver money to the owners of the vehicles at the end of the day so it is going to be difficult.”
Petrol sells N630/litre
Some filling stations in Ondo State increased their pump prices to between N620 and N630/litre.
The marketers jerked up the price from the previous N500, N510 and N520/litre to between N620 and N630/litre after the NNPCL raised its price.
Long queues returned to some filling stations which were selling the product at the old price of N530/litre. Also, many stations which were operating before Tuesday were under locked.
A petrol station manager, who identified himself simply as Taiwo, said his station did not open for operation on Tuesday as the owner of the filling station was yet to decide on the price to sell the product.
“We are yet to sell because we don’t know how much to sell it and it will be very difficult to lift the product with this recent outrageous pump price. Our station owner is yet to decide on how much we will be selling it,” he said.
The Coordinator, African Centre for Media and Information Literacy, Chido Onumah, faulted the government’s lack of control over the NNPCL as regards the pump price of petrol.
“The government seems not to be in control. We have a new government that is clearly not in charge and just leaving things at the hands of whether you say market forces, or buccaneer businessmen, or government forces like the NNPC that is completely out of control”.
He also lamented the effects of the hike on salary earners, noting that the situation was “becoming a nightmare for Nigerians”, as they were suffering more in the two months since the inauguration of the Tinubu administration, than in the last eight years of the previous administration.
Residents in the FCT continued to express their dissatisfaction, questioning and expressing surprise at the upward review in the price of petrol.
“It is surprising that this morning fuel price has been reviewed upward again. We want the government to make an explanation on this, “ a motorist at the A.A. Rano filling station at Jabi, Abuja, Kingsley Fregene, stated.
