Get petrol Prices Back to June 2023 price, TUC Tells FG
The TUC has called for petrol prices to be reinstated to their June 2023 levels.
“We want the price of the goods to fall below what it was before; not just revert to what it was before but to go below,” stated Festus Osifo, president of the TUC, during a press briefing in Abuja on Thursday.
Instead of the present exchange rate of over $1,600 to N1,600, he requested that the government act specifically in the industry by providing foreign exchange to Dangote Refinery at $1/N1,000 in order to bring petrol costs down.
“If implemented, the solution we are proposing will return us to the price we had as of June last year,” Osifo said, pointing out that “no government in the world does not intervene in its critical sector” as well as that the government “shouldn’t leave it (the oil sector) to the vagaries and gyration of our naira.”
Petrol prices in Lagos have risen from ₦184 to ₦998 from May 2023, thanks to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL). In June 2023, the cost of a litre of petrol in Lagos was approximately ₦450.
The head of the TUC hammered on Thursday about how important it is that all Nigerians have access to cheap petrol, claiming that no household in the country can function without it, even if they don’t own a used car.
“We want the Federal Government to, through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), give all marketers licenses to lift petrol from the Dangote Refinery.” This was one of the trade union’s demands centred around accessibility, affordability, and availability.
If the Dangote refinery is unable to fulfil the present daily demands of Nigerians for refined fuel, Osifo argued that the NNPCL should go elsewhere for their supplies.
“If it’s not available, it presents a problem.” Take the Dangote refinery as an example; if daily output is below 15 million litres, it won’t cut it.
As a result, we are demanding that, in addition to efforts to increase output from Dangote Refinery, every possible alternative be considered; we propose that, for the time being, we source for the difference and import it until Dangote reaches a point where its output is adequate to reach every corner of Nigeria. “That will address the issue of availability, which is key for us,” the TUC boss remarked.
Another rude awakening for Nigerians came on Wednesday morning when NNPC retail outlets in Abuja and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) lowered the price of petrol at the pump.
Our reporter in Lagos saw that several NNPCL stores were selling the vital commodity for ₦998, which is over ₦150 more than the original price of ₦855. Petrol outlets are under siege by motorists and haulers who are in a state of panic due to the unexpected spike.
Not only did the NNPCL gradually raise its pump pricing, but so did numerous other filling stations in Lagos, with some charging as much as 1050.
The issue was also the same in Abuja, where NNPCL retail outlets raised the price of the necessary item from ₦897 to ₦1,030.
This new hike followed the NNPCL’s hike on September 2, 2024. The retail giant infuriated customers by increasing the price of gasoline per litre from 568 to 855 rupees.
Despite the lack of an official announcement, the NNPCL dropped hints about a new price hike in mid-September when it started loading its first batch of fuel from the Dangote Refinery.