October 16, 2024
With the economic hardship occasioned by hike in the pump price of petrol biting harder on Nigerians, the House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to reverse the recently increased prices of premium motor spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol and cooking gas.
The call made in Abuja on Wednesday by Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda of PDP-Rivers, was sequel to a resolution to a motion at plenary.
Chinda, while moving the motion, emphasized the need for interventions targeted at price relief, tax reductions or subsidies on cooking gas also called for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for low-income households.
He noted that being an oil-producing nation, Nigeria had historically relied on petroleum products and cooking gas, LPG as essential sources of energy for both domestic and industrial purposes.
The minority leader, observed that in recent months, the prices of petrol and cooking gas had skyrocketed and continued to do so, thus creating a hard and unsustainable financial burden on ordinary Nigerians and increasing the cost of living of citizens.
According to the lawmaker, the removal of fuel subsidies and the global oil price volatility as well as the depreciation of the naira, had contributed significantly to the rising cost of petrol and cooking gas for households.
“Nigerians are worried that the escalating fuel and gas prices are impacting on the transportation, food, essential goods and healthcare as well as increasing inflation.
“Further push on the prices of these two items had exposed many families to deeper financial hardship.
“Businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), are struggling to manage their operational costs due to increased fuel prices, threatening economic stability and job security.
“The Federal Government has the refining capacity to address some of these issues but has yet to deliver significant results in this regard.
“The rising cost of petrol and cooking gas poses a significant threat to the livelihood of millions of Nigerians and unchecked inflationary pressure caused by the increased prices can lead to social unrest, increased poverty rates, and negative long-term economic effects,” he said.
He resolved that, unless urgent and pragmatic steps were taken to control the rising cost of petrol and cooking gas, the nation would go into economic crisis, leading to negative outcomes like increased crime and mortality rates.
READ MORE; NLC Demands Immediate Reversal of Petrol Pump Price
Consequently, the house called on Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Ministry of Petroleum Resources and other relevant agencies to expedite the repair/maintenance of domestic refineries.
The lawmakers, maintained that an increase in local refining capacity will serve as a stop-gap measure to reduce the dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
The Rep members, also urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN to implement monetary policies that capable of mitigating the adverse effects of petrol price hikes on inflation, particularly with regard to essential goods and services.
They implore the federal government to explore alternative energy sources and diversify the country’s energy mix to reduce reliance on petrol and gas by promoting renewable energy solutions that were more sustainable and affordable.
The lawmakers urged state governments to adopt policies that could alleviate the financial burden on the citizens, such as waiving taxes or levies on transportation and goods affected by high petrol costs.
Speaker of the house, Tajudeen Abbas mandated the Committees on Petroleum Downstream and Legislative Compliance to ensure compliance and report back to the house within two weeks for further legislative deliberations and actions.
