The minority caucus in the House of Representatives has rejected the increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, from N148 to N151.56 per litre.
The Petroleum Product Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Wednesday, announced that its retail outlets would now sell petrol for N151.56 per litre, while the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria had directed its members in the South-West to sell at N162.
Ndidi Elumelu, the Minority Leader of the House, in a statement described the increment as unacceptable. He warned that it would result in an increase in the already high cost of consumer goods and services and worsen the current economic hardships being suffered by Nigerians.
“The minority caucus in the House of Representatives rejects the announced increase in the pump price of fuel.
“This is because such increase will directly result in more hardship on our citizens, particularly at this critical time when a majority of Nigerians across the country are struggling to survive under the burden of high cost of living and low purchasing power occasioned by the prevailing economic challenges.
“Any increase in the cost of an essential commodity like fuel will, therefore, bring more hardships to the people and, as such, should not be contemplated,” he said.
The lawmakers urged the Federal Government to come up with better strategies to decrease the cost of fuel like revamping the nation’s refineries.
They also asked the Federal Government to direct the PPMC to revert the prices.
