…Says increase is due to forex fluctuation
By George Mgbeleke
A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations has called for understanding among Nigerians over the slight increase in fuel pump price, saying that prices are being determined by foreign exchange fluctuations induced by international marker forces.
The call was sequel to the recent increase in the pump price of fuel from N537 to N617 per litre on Tuesday, but reacting, the CSOs, said the cost of landing has increased due to FOREX instability, hence, the slight increase would not only ensure continual importation of fuel by the independent marketers, but it will ensure availability of fuel at filling stations.
The Civil Society Organisations which were over 65 in numbers in a statement signed by the lead Convener, Dr Basil Musa and the Co-Convener, Malam Haruna Maigida explained that subsidy regime had previously been favourable to some neighbouring African countries until its removal by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently.
They added that the cost of pump price in other African countries was still higher, a development that was responsible for smuggling of PMS to those countries, while they expressed the belief that the current increment to N617 per pump price would discourage smuggling, stressing that, the development was reflected in the drastic reduction in the imaginary consumption of 60 million litres to 40 million per day.
Some of the Coalition of Civil Society Organisations, making the appeal are, the Oil and Gas Transparency and Advocacy Group, Civil Society Coalition for Economic Development (CED), Centre for Citizens Rights, Centre for Good Governance Advocacy and Action against Corruption in Nigeria among others.
According to them, measures which are being put place to mitigate the hardship occasioned by the increment in pump price will not just be palliative, but to fully deregulate the mainstream and downstream sector so as to break the monopoly of fuel importation and also to ensure that Nigeria’s local refineries are optimally working.
The CSOS pointed out that fuel availability across filling stations was worth commendable particularly as there are no queues due to panic buying, adding that the current prince will come down on its own.
