The House of Representatives has called on the federal government to reverse the recent fuel pump price hike and take immediate steps to stabilize petrol and cooking gas prices through targeted interventions such as temporary price relief measures, tax reductions, or subsidies on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for low-income households.
It also asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, and other relevant agencies to expedite the repair and maintenance of domestic refineries and increase local refining capacity as a stop-gap measure to reduce dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
The Green Chamber further urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement monetary policies that will mitigate the adverse effects of fuel price hikes on inflation, particularly regarding essential goods and services.
The House reached this resolution following the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance titled “Urgent Need To Suspend The Increased Cost Of Petrol And Cooking Gas In The Country And Provide A Stop-Gap,” moved by the Minority Leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers), and 110 others at plenary on Wednesday.
Moving the motion on behalf of other co-sponsors, the Deputy Minority Leader, Hon. Aliyu Madaki (NNPP, Kano), said Nigeria, as an oil-producing nation, has historically relied on petroleum products and cooking gas (LPG) as essential sources of energy for both domestic and industrial purposes.
He expressed concern that in recent months, the prices of petrol and cooking gas have skyrocketed, creating an unsustainable financial burden on ordinary Nigerians and exacerbating the cost of living.
The Kano lawmaker noted that the removal of fuel subsidies, coupled with global oil price volatility and the depreciation of the Naira, has contributed significantly to the rising cost of petrol at the pump and cooking gas for households.
He expressed worry that the escalating fuel and gas prices were impacting the cost of transportation, food, essential goods, and healthcare, further increasing inflation and pushing many families into deeper financial hardship.
Madaki also expressed concern that “businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are struggling to manage their operational costs due to increased fuel prices, threatening economic stability and job security.”
He added, “The Federal Government has previously announced plans to repair domestic refineries and boost local refining capacity to address some of these issues but has yet to deliver significant results in this regard.”
“The rising cost of petrol and cooking gas poses a significant threat to the livelihood of millions of Nigerians and unchecked inflationary pressure caused by the increased prices can lead to social unrest, increased poverty rates, and negative long-term economic effects.”
“Unless urgent and pragmatic steps are taken to control the rising cost of petrol and cooking gas, the Nation will go into economic crisis leading to negative outcomes like increased crime rate and mortality rate.”
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The House, upon adoption of the motion after intense debate, especially in support of it, encouraged the federal government to explore alternative energy sources and diversify the country’s energy mix to reduce reliance on petrol and gas.
It also encouraged state governments to adopt policies that alleviate the financial burden on their citizens, such as waiving taxes or levies on transportation and goods affected by high fuel costs.
The Green Chamber referred the motion to the Joint House and Senate Committee probing alleged economic sabotage in the petroleum sector for necessary action.
This comes as the World Bank has warned that a further increase in the prices of petrol may reverse the already dwindling effects of subsidy removal in Nigeria. The warning is contained in the October edition of its Africa’s Pulse report.
The report stated, “While the inflationary effects of a weakened naira in the first months of this year and the removal of the gasoline subsidy in the second half of 2023 appeared to be gradually subsiding, a further increase in gasoline prices by 40-45 percent in September may reverse the disinflationary trend.”
President Bola Tinubu, as of May 2023, officially pronounced an end to petrol subsidies in Nigeria, jerking PMS prices from N175 per litre to over N1000 across the country. A recent market survey also puts the price of 1 kg cooking gas at N1500.
