By Tosin Olatokunbo
Following the slide in crude oil prices to as low as $20 per barrel at the international oil market, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP said petrol must now be sold to Nigerians at N70 per litre, instead of the N108 recommended by the federal government.
The Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had on Thursday pegged the new ex-depot price of fuel at N108 per litre.
But the PDP said the federal government must announce a new pricing template that accommodates a pump price of between N60 and N70 per liter.
Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP National Publicity Secretary said in a statement that the N108 depot price is fraudulent, not a reflection of the current situation.
According to him “The PDP notes that the N108 ex-depot price with a projected additional N9 per litre Expected Open Market price is therefore completely unacceptable to Nigerians.
Moreover, the Federal Government has continued to shroud the indices and parameters it is using in determining domestic prices of petroleum products in secrecy. Such parameters obviously cannot be in tandem with the appropriate situation in the global industry.”
PDP said market forces should be allowed to determine the price of petroleum products.
The party “lament that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government has continued to shortchange unsuspecting Nigerians since the beginning of the year by refusing to end its corrupt interference and allow market forces to determine pump price of fuel to reflect current global prices.
Our party insists that the Federal Government has no reason to continue to fleece Nigerians particularly in the face of worsening economic crisis occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic which it had also failed to effectively handle.”
PDP therefore “demands that the APC Federal Government should immediately reduce both the ex-depot and pump price as well as surrender the billions of naira accruable as overcharge from the inappropriate fuel pricing since the crash in crude oil price and channel the funds as palliatives to Nigerians.”
