As Nigerians continue to groan over the recent increase in fuel prices by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, OsunDailyNG brings you the latest update on petrol scarcity, fuel price increase and Govt/citizens’ reactions.
With the price of petrol surpassing ₦1,000 per litre at most filling stations across Nigeria, petrol marketers are reporting significantly reduced patronage at their outlets nationwide.
Faced with high prices and reduced returns on investment, marketers say they have been forced to reduce their workforce and scale back on work shifts.
On Channels Television’s “The Morning Brief” program, the National President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Billy Gillis-Harry, shared insights into the challenges facing the industry.
He was joined by Ukadike Chinedu, a spokesperson for the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN).
Gillis-Harry explained, “Marketers, retail outlet owners, all of us in the industry are finding it difficult to cope with the current situation, we used to buy 45,000 litres of fuel a couple of months ago for less than 8.5 million naira but today, we have to cough out about 49 million naira to buy the product.”
He also noted that financial institutions have not been supportive, adding that high borrowing costs and low consumer purchasing power further strain the sector.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said his principal is rectifying the mistake of the former President, Olusegun Obasanjo.
OsunDailyNG reports that the presidential spokesman disclosed this while featuring on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Sunday.
Onanuga said Tinubu has never ascribed himself to the position of Minister of Petroleum, to which Obasanjo had admitted that he made a mistake at his time.
The presidential aide added that the Petroleum Ministry has two ministers supervised by President Tinubu.
Nigerians are now paying around N105,000 for a 50kg bag of locally-produced parboiled rice, surpassing the new minimum wage of N70,000.
This rise follows the removal of the petrol subsidy and the devaluation of the naira, pushing local rice prices up by 123% over the past year.
Imported rice has also become costly, with a 50kg bag now priced at N130,000, according to a recent BusinessDay market survey.
The steep increase in rice prices highlights the limited capacity of smallholder farmers to meet local demand, due to challenges like insecurity, high input costs, and logistical difficulties.
