Public Outcry: Lawmakers demand immediate reversal to old petrol pump price

The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) has called on the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL) to reverse the recent hike in petrol prices. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, described the increase as “unacceptable” and urged immediate action to alleviate the burden on Nigerians. “We urge the Federal Government and, of course, the NNPCL to consider the plight of Nigerians and suspend this recent increase in pump price,” Doguwa said in a statement. The committee highlighted the difficulties faced by citizens and criticised private companies for exploiting system gaps to generate profits at the expense of the populace. Doguwa stressed the need for a return to the old petrol price and encouraged broader stakeholder engagement to address the issue. Doguwa, who also chairs the Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft and Vandalisation, outlined plans to collaborate with security agencies to curb oil theft, which threatens the nation’s fuel supply. “A return to the old pump price will calm frayed nerves, enabling Nigerians to go about their daily activities with ease,” he added. He advised Nigerians to support President Bola Tinubu’s administration as it seeks to revitalise the oil and gas sector, including the ongoing efforts to rehabilitate the Warri and Port Harcourt refineries.

Oil is Indeed the Devil’s excrement: It’s Stench Is Choking Up Nigeria

A new Nigeria needs cooperation of all and sundry -Tinubu

Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo, the prominent Venezuelan politician and one of the founders of OPEC, in the early 70s called petroleum “the devil’s excrement” that always brings trouble—waste, corruption, consumption: our public services falling apart and debt. How I wish he could wake up from his grave to see the devastation of his native land, Venezuela my homeland, Nigeria, he would shake his head in shock how apt and in fact understated his prediction was. The stench of oil, specifically, the high price of one of its refined products, petrol, is literally threatening to choke the life out of my ancestral homeland, Nigeria. It has set the country’s social media on fire and threatening to do same to the regime of the newly elected President Tinubu, who removed the corruption-infected oil subsidy scam. The data below which is making the round on social media compares the selling price for PMS (petrol) across different countries apparently to justify the price hike. Assuming that one can even verify the reliability of this data (there are different grades of PMS in the U.S. for instance, and prices vary from state to state and in fact from one station to another on the same street. Due to local regulation and standards, in Carlifonia petrol can cost twice as what obtains in Texas. The data shows that PMS price in the US is about twice what we pay in Nigeria. However while the proposed minimum wage in Nigeria is equivalent to $43.75 a month at the current exchange rate of Naira 1600 to a dollar, the minimum wage in the U.S. which also varies from state to state is $7.25 per hour for federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees. In Carlifonia the minimum hourly wage hovers around $16. The bottom line is, comparing PMS prices across nations is a meaningless venture. In many of these countries unlike Nigeria, the public transport infrastructure is so advanced that many people don’t even drive. With our poor public transport network, the ridiculously low wage in our economy, and our over-dependence on fossil fuel dependent road transportation to move commodities across the nation, the price of PMS is unsustainably high. It is a drag on our economy and a major driver of our high inflation. Our challenge is that we can’t work our way out of the high price of PMS with the corruption-ridden oil subsidy scam. We have got to increase our refinery capacity. While Dangote coming on stream is a great first step, we cannot depend on another monopoly for the supply of arguably the most critical factor in our economy, petrol and diesel. By the way as Dangote himself has proclaimed publicly, the refinery wouldn’t have happened without the visionary leadership of Tinubu, himself an oil man having worked in the industry before. We need to give the man Tinubu some credit. Solving our petrol problem would not be easy nor quick, but we must have some faith in and give this 15 months old presidency time to work through it. Although, the uninformed has been howling about NNPC acquisition of a major petrol distribution company two years ago, with NNPC poised to be the main distributor for Dangote petrol, this all is making some sense now. The petrol marketers are a powerful cartel which is adept at price manipulation and price gouging. Have you noticed the almost coordinated rolling sale of PMS by different petrol stations in your neighbourhood? Most of them close shop when PMS is available in NNPC stations. With NNPC acquiring more petrol stations and with its exclusive right to Dangote petrol, there is a distinct possibility to finally break the back of the oil marketer cartel. However, more refineries need to come on-stream to address the supply-demand-price equilibrium conundrum in the Nigeria petrol supply chain. This coupled with massive investment in public transport infrastructure especially rail line and solution to our energy infrastructure, our power generation and distribution infrastructure, the prospect for economic revitalization of our country should improve substantially. However, all of these prospect goes down the tube if we throw the baby out with the bath water out of frustration. If we allow those vested and entrenched interest who have fed fat on our dysfunction andwho wish our country no good to decapitate the Tinubu presidency and our hard earned albeit imperfect and frankly frustrating democracy. Ww cannot allow people to fly the Russian flag again as a form of protest in our country. We must understand that there can be no gain without pain. We didn’t get to this economic Armageddon in one day and it will take time, pain and sacrifice to dig our way out. We the grown-up who enjoyed the bounties of petrol-dollars in the 70s and who contributed in one way or another to our country’s perilous condition, should complain and whine less and make one last sacrifice to bequeath to our children, grand children and future generation, a country they can at least have an opportunity to salvage. We have made a mess of our country. We have put our parochial tribal interest above the mission of building a strong virile nation. We have complained about corruption until it is our countryman who is caught or it is our turn to dip our hands in the treasury and we end up doing worse than the people we once condemned. We can heap the blame for global warming and every other problem that confronts our country on Tinubu’s 15-month regime all we want. It won’t solve our problem. Neither him nor anyone possess the magic wand to solve all the problems that have been built up through decades of misgovernance and corruption. He is not to blame for all the governors mismanaging the huge revenue allocations they are now getting. He is not responsible for the price gouging by the market women and the corruption that has become endemic in the Nigerian moral fabric. Our problems are multidimensional, multigenerational, of both poor

Tinubu’s contemptuous of Nigerians

Whether the mounting allegations of governance malpractices against Tinubu are true or not, it has to be noted that the tell-tale signs of the proclivity of the man have been in the public domain for at least 25 years.

Tinubu ‘Recreating’ Nigeria in the Image of Lagos – Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a scathing attack on President Bola Tinubu, accusing him of creating a government that prioritizes his personal interests and those of his family and associates over the welfare of Nigerians.  Atiku, who ran as the Presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, revealed this in a statesmen signed by his spokesperson, Paul Ibe. He revealed that Tinubu’s influence is deeply embedded in both Lagos and federal public enterprises. Atiku drew parallels between Tinubu’s influence in Lagos through firms like Alpha Beta and Primero and his increasing federal influence.  “Just as these firms manage critical sectors in Lagos, Tinubu is extending this control to the federal level,” Atiku claimed. He expressed concern over recent developments with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), particularly the controversial acquisition of OVH, a company partly owned by Wale Tinubu’s Oando. “NNPC Retail’s acquisition of OVH, under opaque terms, is indicative of the ongoing misuse of public resources for personal gain,” Atiku said. The former Vice President criticized the handling of NNPCL’s management, including the retention of Mele Kyari as GMD and the appointment of Pius Akinyelure as Chairman, both of whom are closely tied to Tinubu. He described the situation as an example of “illogical business transactions and abuse of office.” Atiku also cast doubt on the impartiality of legislative investigations into the NNPCL’s dealings, pointing to the potential conflict of interest involving Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who heads the panel and has close ties to Tinubu. Additionally, Atiku highlighted concerns over the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, which is now under litigation.  The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has reported on the close ties between Tinubu’s son, Seyi, and Gilbert Chagoury, who was awarded the contract without competitive bidding. Atiku described this as a conflict of interest that underscores a troubling pattern of favoritism and corruption. “This situation exemplifies how Tinubu’s influence permeates key national projects, raising serious questions about transparency and fairness in government dealings,” Atiku concluded.