The Opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has again called on the Federal Government to review the fuel pump price rate to N70 per litre to reflect global oil price reality.
According to the party, any rate higher than this would amount to shortchanging Nigerians and urged that national assembly to compel the FG to account for the overcharges on its current pump price rate.
The Federal Government had announced the third review of pump price from N123.50 to N121 as a measure to cushion the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic on the nation’s economy but the PDP in a statement said it was not realistic if it is above N70.
The statement signed by Kola Ologbondiyan states in part that: “the PDP completely rejects the N121 per litre price announced by the Federal Government, which has even remained unenforced, describing it as highly provocative and a further display of the insensitivity of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the plight of Nigerians, particularly as they battle the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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“The party insists that a N121 per litre price amounts to fleecing Nigerians of over N50 per litre of fuel. This is in continuation of the N55 per litre overcharge, which Nigerians had borne under the inappropriate N125 per litre, which prevailed for months, before it was brought down to N123.5 per litre, in spite of the crash in the international price of crude oil.
“The PDP rejects the unnecessary price pinching and demands that the Federal Government, should without further delay, implement the appropriate price as well as declare and account for the billions of naira accruable as overcharge since the crash in crude oil price.
“The failure to reduce the pump price as well as the non-declaration of the overcharge is completely unacceptable to Nigerians, as it only points to questions of corruption in the system.
“PDP insists that the APC and its government have no justifiable reason to retain the pump price of fuel at over N70 per litre. It again challenged the APC administration to disprove Nigerians by immediately publishing the prevailing landing cost, depot cost, trucking cost as well as the retail outlet admin cost and show why the pump price should be above N70 per litre.”
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