The House of Representatives has intervened in the rising cost of petroleum products, urging an immediate reversal of the price hike in petrol and cooking gas.
This motion was moved by Deputy Minority Leader Aliyu Madaki and supported by 111 members, highlighting concerns over the hardship the price increase is causing Nigerians and its threat to job security.
The House also called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to boost local refining capacity. Additionally, they urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement policies that mitigate the impact of rising fuel prices on inflation.
This comes as the World Bank, in its October Africa’s Pulse report, warned that further increases in petrol prices could reverse the slight improvement following the removal of fuel subsidies earlier in the year. The Bank noted that a 40-45% fuel price increase in September could disrupt the trend of slowing inflation.
Since President Bola Tinubu’s decision in May 2023 to end petrol subsidies, fuel prices have surged from N175 to over N1000 per litre. Additionally, a market survey showed that the price of 1 kg of cooking gas has reached N1500.
