Nigerians fear the price of petrol may hit as much as N1,800 per litre should the Federal Government completely remove subsidy on the product.
This comes after the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote told the Nigerian Government to end the fuel subsidy regime.
Dangote said fuel subsidy would lead to the Nigerian government “paying what they are not supposed to be paying,” hence the need to end it.
However, concerned Nigerians have cautioned the Federal Government against taking such a decision, which they said would further worsen the hardship in the country.
DAILY POST recalls that from 29th May, 2023, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took over power till the month of September, there has been an astronomical increase in the price of petrol.
Concerned citizens, however, fear that complete subsidy removal would further shoot up the price of the commodity.
It has been reported that though Tinubu announced that the subsidy was gone, the government has been partially subsidizing the commodity.
The product, which sold for N650 per litre at the NNPCL outlets before September 15, skyrocketed to as high as between N1,010 to N1,300 per litre in some outlets on the day Dangote’s private refinery began production.
There is apprehension that with the call for full subsidy removal, the prices could be as high as N1,800 per litre.
Comrade Kindness Jonah of the Civil Liberties Organisation, CLO, told the Nigerian Government to stop taking the people for granted.
In an interview with DAILY POST, Jonah said, “for us in the Civil Liberties Organisation, we have always said that the greatest benefit of the ordinary Nigerian, if there is any other benefit, is subsidy, which the government is shouldering.
“Government is not one person; subsidy is the only thing everybody will benefit from. Subsidy should not even be partial, it should be totally restored and 100 percent borne by the government.
“That is the only derivative the ordinary man can get from the government. Immediately, you say remove it, let the market forces determine the price, there is always manipulation.
“Government cannot avoid it; such a call from Dangote is not in tandem with economic realities in the country. Government should 100 percent subsidize fuel because Nigeria is a mono-product economy.
“Before they can remove subsidy, the government should diversify the economy, make jobs available, unemployment will be zero, everybody will be engaged, at that point you are justified to remove subsidy, not at this point of our suffering.”
Also speaking, Comrade Onyebuchi Igboke, coordinator, Coalition of Civil Society Organisations and convener Office of the Citizens, Enugu State, told DAILY POST that it would be unthinkable for the government to consider any further increment of petrol price.
He said, “the government should not consider any further increment in the price of petrol”, stressing that “we should solve our problems locally here and stop talking about what is happening in the international market.
“This is a product we produce here, yet there is too much secrecy about it. Dangote is a private business man, we all celebrated when he came on board, but he should come out openly and tell Nigerians the price of his commodity.
“Anything that has to do with energy affects virtually every other thing, so we must tread with caution.”
“The price of petrol should not be more than N600,000; the government must find a way to do that. The cardinal essence of government is for the welfare of the people and that is what we expect this government to prioritize.
“Anybody talking about increasing the price of petrol up to N1,500 and N1,800 does not mean well for the country,” he added.
Meanwhile, subsidy payment has remained a source of controversy ever since its announced removal last year.
Although Ajuri Ngelale, former presidential spokesperson, had disputed there was reintroduction of subsidy, the NNPCL recently confirmed that the federal government owes it N7.8 trillion for subsidising petrol.