President Bola Tinubu has taken a major step to curtail a further rise in the pump price of petrol, according to Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity.
Any further increase would have led to a major labour crisis in the country, apart from worsening the untold hardship being experienced by many Nigerians, analysts said.
The president’s spokesman spoke on Tuesday to journalists in Abuja, saying President Tinubu has ordered that no further increase in the price of petrol.
The president’s intervention comes barely hours after speculations that petroleum marketers were planning to increase the price of the commodity to N720 per litre.
The marketers have blamed the fluctuation of the naira exchange to the dollar for their decision which could have increased the price of petrol for the third time since President Tinubu came to power on May 29, and announced an end to the multi-billion naira fuel subsidy regime in the country.
Speaking today at the presidential villa, Abuja, Ngelale assured Nigerians that the current price of petrol will not change, adding that the administration will fulfil its promise to remain transparent on the deregulation of the petroleum sector.
He said efforts are also being made to ensure that petrol is readily available across the country, saying however that Nigeria has the lowest price for the product across West Africa.
According to him,“The president wishes to assure Nigerians, following the announcements by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), just yesterday that there will be no increase in the pump price of petroleum motor spirit anywhere in the country.
“We repeat, the president affirms that there will be no increase in the pump price of petroleum motor spirit.
“The president also wishes to affirm that there are presently inefficiencies within the midstream and downstream petroleum sub-sectors that once very swiftly addressed and cleaned up will ensure that we can maintain prices where they are without having to resort to a reversal of this administration’s deregulation policy in the petroleum industry”.
The NNPCL had earlier assured Nigerians that petrol prices will not be increased across all its sales outlets in the country.
Meanwhile, those watching what’s going on said the timely intervention of President Tinubu will prevent organized labour from making good its threat to embark on strike should the price be increased.
Thus following the speculation of an impending increase by marketers, the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC and Trade Union Congress, TUC, threatened to go on strike as soon as the price is hiked without notice to the government.
