The Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to review the price of the Premium Motor Spirits (PMS) also known as petrol downward to prevent further hardship on Nigerians.
In a statement in Abuja, the Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda, said the current price of petrol was biting so hard on the common man.
He, however, expressed concerns over the recent statement issued by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on the fuel pricing arrangement with the Dangote refinery.
According to him, the NNPCL statement indicated that the price of fuel has been set at an alarming N950 per litre in some parts of Nigeria, and as much as N1,000 per litre in other regions.
The company last month raised the fuel pump price from N617 to N885 per litre to spark angry reactions in the country.
The development had since shot up the costs of transportation and other essential goods, including food items in the country.
The statement read: “We find this pricing regime to be not only burdensome but utterly unacceptable, particularly because this fuel is refined locally.
“The pricing of locally refined fuel should be significantly lower than imported fuel, as it lacks the incidental costs associated with landing charges, import duties, and other taxes.
“Any fuel pricing regime that disregards these factors appear to be designed to unfairly exploit Nigerians, especially at a time when the average citizen is already grappling with severe economic challenges.
“We call on the Executive, relevant regulatory bodies and all concerned stakeholders to urgently review this pricing framework to ensure that Nigerians are not subjected to unjust and unsustainable fuel prices.
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“The caucus remains committed to safeguarding the welfare of the Nigerian people and will continue to engage all necessary actors to ensure fair pricing that reflects the true value of locally refined fuel.”
The lawmaker stressed that the current pricing arrangement, if allowed to persist, would deepen the economic hardship experienced by millions of Nigerians.
Chinda reminded all stakeholders, especially NNPCL and Dangote Refinery that the primary responsibility of both public and private enterprises in the energy sector was to serve the Nigerians not to profiteer at their expense.
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