Connect with us

Headlines News

Petrol hits N350/ltr, queue returns as Tinubu removes subsidy

Published

on

NNPC has assured Nigerians of adequate petroleum products during labour strike

The downstream end of Nigeria’s petroleum sector has gone into a frenzy as operators respond to the sudden elimination of petrol subsidies with a significant increase in pump prices just as customers rushed the gas stations.

In reaction to the events, commercial transport companies have raised their trip rates across the country.

Bola Tinubu, the new president, announced in his inauguration speech yesterday that “petroleum subsidies are no longer available.”

Reporters in Lagos discovered that some merchants responded by raising their costs by approximately 100%, to N370 per litre from N185.

However, a few other stations, especially the major marketers, sold between N195 and N220 per litre across Lagos and Abuja.Our findings also showed that some of the petrol station operators simply shut their filling stations, thus leading to the emergence of long queues.

Advertisement

This is even as depot owners shut down their operations, arguing that further clarification was needed to guide activities in the implementation of the new order.

In Abuja, long queues re-emerged at petrol stations as motorists reacted to the removal of the subsidy on petrol.

Transporters hike fares

Meanwhile, commuters were seen stranded at various bus stops waiting to board commercial buses, which may have been trapped in the frenzy that greeted the removal of the gasoline subsidy.

Advertisement

Few of the buses that were on the road for business hiked the fares between 50 and 100 percent over fear of impending scarcity.One of the motorists, wearing a long face, who spoke with this reporter at one of the fuel stations selling petrol, lamented, “Why would Tinubu start on this note to punish the already depressed, impoverished Nigerians inflicted by the outgoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari?”

“This is absolutely unfair to Nigerians. When I heard that Tinubu has directed the removal of oil subsidies, I had to rush down here to fill my tank and some jerry cans for my power generation set.”

Also, Mr. John Akinloye, a motorist along the Agege area, said, “I was not surprised to see queues at the fuel stations after the announcement. I just pray this sad and unfortunate development will not last so as not to put the suffering masses through another round of economic and mental torture.

“I have been at the fuel station for over an hour and am yet to get to the fuel pump point. Even the fuel attendants are not willing to sell more than N3,000 per buyer. If you want to buy N4,000, they are refusing.”

Advertisement

At Conoil and Adova Petroleum stations located in the Karu area of the nation’s capital, long queues were observed at stations selling at N195 per litre.

At petrol stations operated by independent marketers, pump prices were hiked to between N315 and N370 per litre, with the topmost price range recorded in other parts of the country outside Lagos and Abuja.

The situation, it was gathered, might worsen in the coming days as workers and business owners return to work today after the holiday declared for the inauguration of the new president.

Meanwhile, most stakeholders who spoke to Vanguard about the development believed that the subsidy removal was the right step.

Advertisement

Fuel subsidy removal is long overdue -MD, 11 Plc.

Immediate Past Chairman, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, who doubles as the Managing Director, 11PLC, Adetunji Oyebanji, said: “This is a welcome development. The country is bleeding every day, and we are getting to a stage where if we are not careful, all our revenue will go into world-serving debt and subsidy, which means we have no money left to do anything else but pay salaries.

“The people kicking against this interest will end up suffering even more. The amount of money spent on this subsidy has been documented in so many different forums and different places; people have talked about it over the years, and to make matters worse, a lot of it is going towards subsidising other companies in Africa; hence, it has to go.”

Oyebanji, who noted that the fuel subsidy removal was long overdue, said: “I have been an advocate of the removal of the fuel subsidy because it is not benefiting the ordinary man but rather the elite who drive cars. So, I was pleased with the planned removal.”

We cannot borrow to pay the fuel subsidy – EnergyHub

Similarly, the lead promoter of EnergyHub Nigeria, Prof. Felix Amieyeofori, said: “This is a welcome development for the oil and gas industry. We support it because it only benefits the elite. The government should direct the subsidy to other strategic economic programmes. We cannot borrow to pay the subsidy.”

Advertisement

Fuel subsidy: a cheap way of making money – OGSPAN

But the National President of the Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria, Mazi Colman Obasi, who described fuel subsidy as a cheap way of making money, said: “We have heard that before. It is said that it’s easier said than done. Anything that would remove cheap money can be resisted. Fuel subsidies are one of these cheap funds. I have read the speech; it sounds nice. I cannot remember the last inaugural presidential speech in which the promises and hopes were implemented the way they were in the history of Nigeria. Let us wait and see.”

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Copyright © 2015 - 2024 ChronicleNG

Discover more from Chronicle.ng

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading