Proposed Hike In Fuel Price ; Ex-Head Of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar Warns Against Increase

Proposed Hike In Fuel Price ; Ex-Head Of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar Warns Against Increase

By Our Correspondent

The former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd.), has warned against the proposed increase in fuel pump price by the Federal Government.

Abubakar gave the warning while speaking at the 19th Daily Trust Dialogue in Abuja on Thursday.

The former Head of State warned of the negative concequecies of the increase at this particular time of hardship confronting the Nation.

It was recalled that, the National Economic Council had reportedly recommended that the fuel price should be pegged at N302 per litre.

The NEC meeting chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo made the recommendation in November 2021.

“The recommendation has since been reconsidered and dropped by the committee. According to the new report, the committee recommended full deregulation of PMS prices by February 2022 — raising the price by about N130/140 per litre.”

“It also recommended that all retailers should post PMS prices at all times on a designated website and smartphone app — and they are expected to post price changes no earlier than within 15 minutes of the price change.

With the recommendations, the committee added that the federal government would save N250 billion per month on petrol subsidy removal.

“At current rates, the PMS subsidy is reducing transfers into the federation by about NGN 250 billion per month, and could, if PMS subsidies are not eliminated, result in deductions of NGN 3 trillion in 2022.

“The large-scale time-limited (6-months) cash transfer proposed as a way of transferring the subsidy “directly to the people” would cost N600 billion but would by paving the way for the elimination of PMS subsidies, enable the federation to recover N3 trillion in revenues that would otherwise go to PMS subsidies.

“If PMS subsidies are eliminated by February 2022, N250 billion in deductions would have been incurred, but the remaining N195 billion in anticipated PMS subsidy deductions could be redirected towards FGN funding of the cash-transfer programme,” the report read.