Reduction in petrol price is tokenism, PDP tells Buhari
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the
‘new’ pump price of petrol as announced on Tuesday by the Petroleum
Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) as a continuation of what it
called the All Progressives Congress (APC) government by deception.
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh yesterday said the reduction offered too little to cheer.
“After heightened expectations occasioned by the promise to review the N87 per litre pump price of petrol made by the administration amid crippling scarcity of the product during the Christmas season, the announcement of this tokenism has come as a disappointing anti-climax, considering that only in January this year, the PDP-led Federal Government reduced the pump price from N97 to N87 per litre.
“That was done in the wake of the fall in the price of crude oil to between $42.65 and $50 per barrel. The PDP government then, in reaction to the development in the global oil market, revised its pricing template that brought down the pump price by N2.84 more than the N87 fixed as the pump price of petrol.
“The implication was that the Federal Government was still subsidising the N87 price by N2.84 per every litre of the product.
“The APC-controlled Federal Government, consequent upon stepping in the saddle on May 29, this year considered the market and decided through a supplementary appropriation to pay N413 billion as subsidy to petroleum marketers.
In announcing the new pump price, the APC-led Federal Government claimed that the subsidy element has been removed.
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh yesterday said the reduction offered too little to cheer.
“After heightened expectations occasioned by the promise to review the N87 per litre pump price of petrol made by the administration amid crippling scarcity of the product during the Christmas season, the announcement of this tokenism has come as a disappointing anti-climax, considering that only in January this year, the PDP-led Federal Government reduced the pump price from N97 to N87 per litre.
“That was done in the wake of the fall in the price of crude oil to between $42.65 and $50 per barrel. The PDP government then, in reaction to the development in the global oil market, revised its pricing template that brought down the pump price by N2.84 more than the N87 fixed as the pump price of petrol.
“The implication was that the Federal Government was still subsidising the N87 price by N2.84 per every litre of the product.
“The APC-controlled Federal Government, consequent upon stepping in the saddle on May 29, this year considered the market and decided through a supplementary appropriation to pay N413 billion as subsidy to petroleum marketers.
In announcing the new pump price, the APC-led Federal Government claimed that the subsidy element has been removed.
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