Oil marketers have advised President Bola Tinubu to consider a gradual relaxation of the subsidy removal on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) due to challenges faced by importers in accessing United States dollars. This comes as President Tinubu has ruled out a fuel price hike and a reversal of the fuel subsidy. The marketers have urged him to take lessons from Kenya, where the subsidy on petrol was reintroduced to mitigate its adverse effects on the citizens.
The Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Abuja-Suleja, Mohammed Shuaibu, highlighted the consequences of not taking appropriate measures, mentioning that Kenya had resumed the subsidy regime due to its harsh impact on the populace. Shuaibu emphasized the importance of a listening government, urging relaxation of the subsidy removal to prevent further challenges.
Marketers argued that despite the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited's announcement that there will be no increase in petrol prices, rising exchange rates could lead to an inevitable cost increase. They also warned that businesses were shutting down and that citizens were suffering from the effects of the subsidy removal.
Industry experts, including the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), advised the government to attract investors to fix Nigeria's refineries and consider private investments. The Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Clement Isong, stated that government intervention was necessary if fuel prices continued to rise due to exchange rate fluctuations. Marketers called for urgent repair of the refineries as a viable solution.
Source: Punch Newspaper