TheNewsGuru

Tag: Fuel Hike

  • Presidency defends fuel hike: ‘How many Nigerians have cars, generators?’

    Presidency defends fuel hike: ‘How many Nigerians have cars, generators?’

    The Nigerian presidency has continued to justify the rise in petrol price, that moved from N145 to N161 and may even go higher, going by the hints in President Buhari’s October 1 speech.

    Senior Special Assistant to President Buhari on media, Malam Garba Shehu told Channels TV Politics today that it is unfair for poor Nigerians to continue to subsidise the lifestyle of urban dwellers.

    “How many Nigerians have cars anyway? How many of them run generators in their homes that they need this fuel for? Is it fair that the farmer and the herder and all of these low-level people in our society, that the taxpayer money is taken from them and is subsidising the lifestyle of our city, urban dwellers?

    “So the President is just trying to be as practical as possible on this matter,” Shehu said.

    “We belong to a global market system. We are buying, mostly, refined products from the international markets”, he added.

    Shehu also defended President Muhammadu Buhari’s comment on Independence day, where he compared the price of fuel in Nigeria with that obtained in Saudi Arabia and neighbouring African countries and Egypt.

    “So Saudi Arabia is important in this discussion because what is the technical cost of producing a barrel of oil in Saudi Arabia? It’s not more than a quarter of what we spend here. And yet you see that they charge more than Nigeria. How much comes to Nigeria?

    “One, you look at their technical cost. So therefore Nigerians should be realistic.”

    He also argued that it was unwise for the government to continue to determine prices and be an active player in the petroleum industry.

    “Government is not the best manager of businesses; we should surrender them to the market,” he said.

    “We have done this with the telecoms; the telecoms are serving the whole nation excellently well, and when we do this with petrol, we will no longer have to cope with queues, spending two nights ahead of Christmas travel.

    “All nations of the world put this thing to the market. We should no longer pretend,” Shehu said.

  • Fuel hike: NANS dissociates from planned protest in southwest

    Fuel hike: NANS dissociates from planned protest in southwest

    The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has dissociated itself from the planned protest by the alleged SouthWest Zone D chapter of the association over the recent hike in fuel pump price and electricity tariff.
    Mr Azeez Adeyemi, the National Public Relations Officer of NANS, disclosed this in a statement in Abeokuta on Sunday.

    According to Adeyemi, the NANS southwest zone D, led by Kappo Olawale had given the Federal government a five-day ultimatum to reverse the hike in the prices of fuel and electricity tariff.

    He said that the students insisted that if the government failed to reverse the prices, it would shutdown the southwest states in a mass protest on Monday.

    The NANS spokesman, however, disowned the Olawale – led group, describing them as “impostors”.

    Adeyemi insisted that the group was not recognised by the national leadership of the students’ umbrella body.

    He urged the police not to hesitate to arrest and prosecute anyone caught disturbing the peace of the country under any guise.

    Adeyemi explained that the national leadership of NANS had met in Abuja on Thursday where it was unanimously agreed that the Federal government be given a stipulated date to reverse the hike in the pump price of fuel and electricity tariff .

    Adeyemi said that NANS and other affiliate bodies had staged a protest in Abeokuta the Ogun state capital and other five southwest states last Tuesday to register their displeasure on the issue.

    “The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) wishes to inform the general public that it is not part of any planned protest by a group of impostors who called themselves NANS SouthWest zone D, led by one Kappo Samuel Olawale.

    “We want to put on record that the umbrella body does not recognised the Olawale – led group and would not in any way be held responsible for their actions.

    “This group of individuals are not authourised to carry out any protest in the name of NANS and we want to call on security agencies to be alive to their responsibility and arrest any one caught during the planned protest,” he said.

  • Aggrieved Nigerians protest in Osogbo over electricity tariff, fuel hike

    Aggrieved Nigerians protest in Osogbo over electricity tariff, fuel hike

    Dissatisfied members of the Coalition for Civil Societies in Osun State Friday morning protested against the hike in electricity tariff and petrol price.

    The activists took off from Freedom Park, Osogbo around 8:30 am.

    The protesters displayed placards showing their anger over the increase in electricity tariff and petrol price.

    The protesters lamented that “approval of new electricity tariff and increment in the pump price of petrol is the highest level of thoughtlessness and wickedness from President Muhammad Buhari-led All Progressives Congress government.”

    Petrol prices have increased for three straight months, rising from N121.50–N123.50 per litre in June to N140.80-N143.80 in July, N148-N150 in August and N158-N162 in September.

    TheNewsGuru recalls that the Petroleum Products Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had, on Wednesday, increased the ex-depot price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) to N151.56 per litre from N138.62 per litre but later reduced it to N147.67.

    The ex-depot price is the price at which the product is sold to marketers at the depots.

     

  • You are very insensitive to our plights, Nigerians blast Buhari over fresh fuel, electricity hikes

    You are very insensitive to our plights, Nigerians blast Buhari over fresh fuel, electricity hikes

    Nigerians are not taking the latest fuel and electricity hike by the President Muhammadu Buhari led federal government easy.

    Since the fuel and electricity hikes became public knowledge, Nigerians have taken to their social media platforms to bash President Muhammadu Buhari for being ‘insensitive’ to their plights.

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) set a pump price of N162 for petrol in the south-west region.

    This followed the increase of the ex-depot price for the product by the Petroleum Products Marketing Company, a subsidiary of NNPC. The price was increased from N138 to N151.

    Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) across the country also began on 1 September the implementation of a new electricity tariff regime of N66 per kwh.

    See social media reactions below:

    https://twitter.com/VictorWisdomCh1/status/1301225741703622656?s=20

     

  • Don’t over burden Nigerians with another fuel price hike, PDP warns FG

    Nigeria’s main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on Friday warned the Federal Government not to increase prices of petroleum petroleum products above the current N145 per litre.

    The party, in a statement on Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbodiyan, alleged its investigations had shown that the federal government has been lying to Nigerians on oil related issues while using the state-owned NNPC to bandy figures to deceive Nigerians.

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, had on Thursday said the NNPC, has incurred a cumulative loss of N85.5 billion via importing petrol and selling at N145 per litre.

    He said the price was fixed in the first quarter of 2016, when crude oil was selling for $49 but now sells for $67 a barrel, noting that the pump price, may no longer be sustainable.

    Mr. Kachickwu gave the explanation to the National Assembly joint committee on Petroleum Resources ( Downstream).

    The minister, however in a statement on Thursday signed by Idang Alibi, director of press, foreclosed any fuel price hike. He said there was no such plan.

    The PDP, however, said the lingering fuel crisis was a ploy by the APC to justify the intended hike.

    The party said instead of putting more burden on the people, the APC government should, ”come out clear on sleazes in the oil sector under its watch, particularly the shady oil subsidy payouts and illegal lifting of N1.1 trillion worth of crude using unregistered companies.”

    “Any increase in fuel pump price would be an indirect tax on Nigerians to fund APC interests and considering the pains Nigerians have suffered under this inept and unfeeling government, this intended hike will be callous,” the opposition party said.