The Nigeria Labour Congress and Civil Society Organisations have called for further reduction in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), stressing that the recent drop in price to N935/litre is not satisfactory.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery in partnership with MRS recently announced a reduction in petrol price to N935/litre.

Before the announcement, the commodity sold for over N1,030/litre in Lagos and environs, while it cost more than N1,060/litre in Abuja and Northern states.

Recall that on Sunday, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria said petrol was going to sell at N935/litre beginning from Monday based on the latest arrangement with the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

IPMAN?s National President, Maigandi Garima, said the reduction in Dangote refinery?s ex-depot price for petrol and the uniform arrangement being put in place, would enable marketers to sell at N935 in their outlets nationwide, incurring a cost of N36 on logistics.

But the announcement did not excite the labour union and CSOs, as they insisted on Monday that the cost of petrol should drop further.

Speaking with The PUNCH, a senior official of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Chris Onyeka, rejected any applause for the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited over the recent reduction in the pump price of petrol.

He argued that the current pricing mechanism does not reflect the true cost of the commodity.

?Do you want us to clap for them? How can we be okay with a price of N935/litre of PMS? This is not the right price for PMS. You cannot base the price on imported products when we have refining capacity in Nigeria,? he said.

He argued that the costs embedded in the current pricing framework?including foreign labour, freight charges, insurance, logistics, and profits accrued abroad?unfairly burden Nigerians.

?Products are refined in Nigeria, yet the price you give Nigerians is based on imported products. Why should we applaud that? It is akin to someone stealing your money and returning only part of it, then expecting you to clap. We cannot applaud this,? he stated.

Onyeka stressed that the only way to ascertain the correct price of PMS is by determining the actual cost of refining it domestically.

?We need to know how much it costs the NNPC to refine a litre of PMS in our local refineries, such as the Port Harcourt refinery. That is the price Nigerians should be paying,? he emphasised.

He called on the government to prioritise the welfare of Nigerians by ensuring that fuel pricing aligns with local realities.

?This country belongs to all Nigerians. Let the government do the right thing that allows Nigerians to breathe. Let the poor breathe.

?The NLC?s position underscores growing discontent among Nigerians over the rising cost of living, with fuel prices being a major contributor to inflation and economic hardship,? he stated.

The Chairman, Centre for Accountability and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, said the reduced price of N935/litre was still expensive and unsatisfactory, noting that the government and private business could still give out free petrol to citizens.

?Well, we believe that if NNPC and the private sector actually give out PMS for free, they will still not run their business at a loss, because the other derivatives of petroleum products can still serve them, and can still make them to break even. So, even at that N900 and something, it?s still expensive.

?Dangote has kind of mooted the idea that it could drop to as low as N650. And if he has mulled this, then it means that it is the state, it is the NNPC that will have been the clog in the wheel of such progress. And you know also that we expected that fare prices, especially PMS prices, will drop below N200 when Dangote was expected to come on stream.

?So, it?s unfortunate that we are still talking about over N900 and they want us to jump up and rejoice for that. That is not satisfactory. They should just let us see the breakdown of their production cost and why it?s still there. I mean, there are countries like Libya under Gaddafi that gave out PMS for free and they didn?t run anything at any loss. So, I believe that it can still go further down,? he said.

The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Ibrahim Rafsanjani, commended the reduction of fuel prices by the NNPC and Dangote, but said the government could still reduce the price.

?Dangote?s own is about N899 or something like that. Well first and foremost, we are happy that there is a little reduction in the prices. But also based on analysis and based on facts and evidences, we believe that it is possible for the Nigerian government to further reduce the prices.

?Because if a private company can reduce the price and it still makes profit, we wonder why government-owned enterprises cannot really pity its citizens,? he said.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on Monday reduced the pump price of petrol at its retail outlets in the Federal Capital Territory to N965/litre, down from N1,040/litre.

This occurred as MRS filling stations implemented a new petrol price of N935/litre at all its retail service stations nationwide, in accordance with the agreement signed with the Dangote Refinery.

Checks by our correspondent revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited effected the new price across its retail outlets in the capital city, to the delight of customers.

The new amount is the second price drop of N95 in less than two weeks from N1,060 earlier this month.

At its mega station located along Wuse Zone 4 and Olusegun Obasanjo Way, Central Area, the price of the commodity was sold at N965 per litre with commuters scrambling to join the long queue.

The national oil firm also slashed the petrol price to N965 at its Lugbe and Gudu area opposite Prince and Princess Estate outlets.

Reacting, a motorist at the central area station, who confirmed the price drop, applauded the national oil firm but called for a uniform across all stations for easy access.

He said, ?Yes, NNPC has reduced its price to N965. I bought it this morning, but the queue is too long. Maybe because other stations are selling at a different price.?

Another driver, Hassan, said the changes would reflect in cost of transport but didn?t give a specific date.

He said, ?This change is good news. We are excited about this price reduction and it will show in transport costs. N95 is a lot of money and it means we can now buy more litres to fuel our car.?

However, major and independent marketers are yet to implement the price reduction as they claim to be selling old stocks bought at a higher price.

A visit to several stations showed that their products were priced between N1,030 and N1,070 at different locations.

AA Rano, along the airport road, sold its product at N1,060 per litre, while NIPCO, along the same route, sold at N1,030 per litre. AP station sold at N1,070, and Mobil station located at Jabi Garage priced its product at N1,040 per litre.

Meanwhile, at the MRS filling station along Kubwa Road and Airport Road, the pump price dropped to N935 per litre from N1,070.

This follows an announcement by the President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery has partnered with MRS Oil and Gas to offer petrol at N935 per litre at retail outlets, following a reduction in the ex-depot price from N970 to N899.50 per litre. (The PUNCH)

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