The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has questioned why Nigeria cannot sell Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, for between N441 and N872 per litre, like Angola, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Atiku made this known in a statement by his media team on Tuesday.
Recall that in the last two weeks, Nigeria’s petrol pump price rose sharply to between N1,310 and N1,345 per litre in Abuja and its environs.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, MRS, Ranoil and other filling stations increased petrol retail prices by between N20 and N80 per litre.
The upward review of petrol prices further worsened the economic hardship faced by Nigerians after Dangote Refinery raised its gantry price by N65 per litre.
Reacting to the development, Atiku said that despite Nigeria’s minimum wage of N70,000, which is far lower than those of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other countries, its petrol price is close to N1,400 per litre.
“For more than three years, Nigerians have endured punishing transport fares, soaring food prices, crippling energy costs and wages that buy less every month.
“Why did Nigerians have to suffer for more than three years before your government discovered that economic growth must reach ‘the dining table and the pocket’?
“Saudi Arabia sells petrol at about N778 per litre. Kuwait is around N872. Algeria is about N475. Angola is about N441. Even the United Arab Emirates, where average incomes are vastly higher than Nigeria’s, sells petrol below Nigeria’s roughly N1,400 per litre.
“These countries did not conclude that oil production requires punishing citizens at the pump. In different ways, they have used their natural-resource advantage to moderate the energy burden on their people. Nigeria has turned that advantage upside down. Nigeria sells petrol at roughly N1,400 per litre and ranks around 164th,” Atiku stated.