Nigerian lawmakers move to suspend hikes as petrol price hits N700 in Lagos, others

*The House of Representatives has also rejected a motion to Set up an Ad-hoc Committee to collate the views of lawmakers, civil society organisations, and the general public, and engage the Federal Government on the selection of ‘best palliative options’ to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerian consumers

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

In view of the sudden increase again, in petrol pump price in Nigeria, the House of Representatives in the National Assembly (NASS), Wednesday, July 19, 2023, rejected an amendment to a motion seeking to suspend the recent increase in product price.

ConsumerConnect reports the Federal legislators voted against the amendment after Hon. Benjamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker, who presided over plenary questioned if it would be appropriate for the House of Representatives to take such a position since pump price is controlled by the market forces after the recent deregulation of the downstream sector.

Earlier, Hon. Ugochinyere Ikenga, a member of the House, had moved a motion calling for investigation into the increases in the price of petrol since the removal of petrol subsidy by the new administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Transporters, consumers groan over new fuel hike regime

It is recalled the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Tuesday, increased the petrol pump price from recent average N200-N250 per liter to N617 per litre.

However, checks with some filling stations and transporters Tuesday in Lagos revealed consumers are buying the petroleum product at varying prices across the metropolis.

Some transporters, including drivers of mini buses, also known as ‘Korope’ in local parlance, and tricycles (Kẹkẹ Marwa), told ConsumerConnect Tuesday that they purchased petrol per litre at varying prices of N488, N560 and N700 respectively at different locations within the cosmopolitan state.

They equally lamented the seemingly unending increases in petrol prices with overbearing effects on prices of other products and services in the country’s economy.

The Lower Legislative Chamber Tuesday, however, resolved to carry out an investigation to ascertain the veracity of the increases in the latest adjusted fuel price by the NNPCL.

In a related development, the House of Representatives also rejected a motion to Set up an Ad-hoc Committee to collate the views of lawmakers, Civil Society Organisations, as well as the public, and engage the government on the selection of the best palliative options to cushion the effect of removal of fuel subsidy on Nigerian consumers.

It was also learnt the development cane up amid reported uncertainties by Nigerians and indeed, members of the House on how the N500 billion palliatives funds approved for President Tinubu would be utilised.

Hon. Dennis Agbo, who moved the motion said it would be best for Nigerians to determine the best palliatives for them.

The legislator also expressed concern about how little the proposed monthly cash handout of ₦8,000 could achieve for a selected household of five members under current potential inflationary pressure in the country.