The Federal Government and organised labour could not reach a consensus in their discussion last night on the hike of petrol pump price, which became effective yesterday.
According to the new price template release by the NNPC Limited, Premium Motor Spirit (better known as petrol) will now sell for between N488 and N557, depending on the location. The old rate was N195 per litre.
But in some parts of the country, the product is now being sold for between N600 and N800/litre. The National Public Relations Officer of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chief Chinedu Ukadike even said that petrol is being sold at N1,200 per litre in some outlets in the South East.
Yesterday’s meeting, which was held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja was to prevent a labour crisis promised by the workers as a result of the discontinuance of petroleum subsidy.
Ukadike said that the hike would trigger galloping inflation, adding: “Once NNPCL retail stations have adjusted their pumps to reflect the new price, there is nothing you can do about it; that is the new price. As I speak with you, all of them are now selling at the new prices. The situation is so bad, that somewhere in Ebonyi State our members informed us that it is now N1,200/litre.
“We thought the President would remove the subsidy through a seamless means because the source of this petrol is the NNPCL. They are the ones subsidising petroleum products, they are the people who use their revenue to subsidise this product”.
The IPMAN spokesperson expressed worry over the rate of increase in inflation and hardship that would come as a result of the latest hike in petrol price.
“This hike in petrol price will definitely lead to galloping inflation and will worsen the hardship already being faced by the Nigerian masses. It is not something to cheer about. It came as a surprise and in the coming days, we will see the very harsh ripple effects”, he stated.
He called on the Federal Government and the NNPCL to give other marketers the opportunity to start importing petrol in order to create competition in the sector.
“The NNPCL is importing and has not given people the opportunity to join them in importing so as to see whether private sector operators can import the product cheaper or not. So there is no competition. In a deregulated regime, there must be competition, everyone with capacity should be allowed to import”, the IPMAN official said.
Asked whether other marketers could resume imports since the government had finally deregulated petrol prices, Ukadike replied: “Marketers can import, but let me tell you some of the factors militating against this. The first is that there won’t be availability of dollars.
“You will source your dollar from the parallel market and if you are not careful in doing this, and you go into the importation of petroleum products, you might not ‘come out of it alive’ at the end of the day.
“So what we are saying is that those advantages that NNPCL has, should be shared with other major importers of petroleum products. If it is through crude buy-back, they should let us know so that independent players such as IPMAN members can come together and be able to use it in the buy-back model”.
He added” “For independent marketers, the most important thing is that there should be availability of petroleum products, and the government should open up the space for importers and investors to come in.”
The price hike has sparked a groundswell of anger across the nation with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) demanding an immediate reversal of the decision. It said it would hold an emergency meeting on Friday on the situation, which has triggered hoarding and scarcity across the country with attendant rise in transport fares, goods and services.
In attendance at yesterday’s meeting between the Federal Government and labour NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero; and his Trade Union Congress counterpart, Comrade Festus Osifo; former NLC President and immediate past governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; Permanent Secretary, State House, Tijjani Umar; Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan; NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Malam Mele Kyari, and others.
At the end of the meeting, Ajaero said: “As far as labour is concerned, we didn’t have a consensus in this meeting”.
He faulted the NNPCL over an official release published hours earlier reviewing the petrol pump price in its filling stations nationwide.
He said the move puts the labour unions in a difficult position on the negational table.
“That’s the principle of negotiation. You don’t put the partner, ask them to negotiate under gunpoint. The prayer of the NLC is that we go back to the status quo, negotiate, think of alternatives and all the effects and how to manage the effects this action is going to have on the people. If it is an action that must take off.
“The subsidy provision has been made up to the end of June. And before then, conscious people, labour management, and the government should be able to think of what will happen at the end of June. You don’t start it before the time”, Ajaero said.
On his part, Mr. Dele Alake, who spoke on behalf of the Federal Government, said the negotiations were ongoing and the parties would reconvene on a yet-to-be-defined date.
He said: “We have been deliberating on finding very amicable solutions to the issue at hand, to the queue and all of that and the increase in pump price.
“We had a very robust engagement. We cross-fertilised ideas, ideas flew from all sides and there is one thing that is remarkable even from the Labour side, and that is Nigeria. We are all looking at the peace, progress and stability of Nigeria. That is what is paramount.
“Of course, the NNPCL CEO, Mr. Kyari is here. We cannot go into details now because the talks are still ongoing. We cannot finish everything at one setting, so, we have adjourned now, we are continuing the talks at a later date very shortly.
“But the point is that the talks are ongoing and it always better for all sides to keep talking with a view to arriving at a very amicable resolution that will be in the longer term interest for all Nigerians. That is as much as we can say now”.
Earlier, NNPCL’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Garba-Deen Muhammad said in a statement that the price hike was in line with market realities, stressing that the cost of petrol would continue to fluctuate with market dynamics.
“NNPC Limited wishes to inform our esteemed customers that we have adjusted our pump prices of PMS across our retail outlets in line with current market realities.
“As we strive to provide you with the quality service for which we are known, it is pertinent to note that prices will continue to fluctuate to reflect market dynamics. We assure you that NNPC Limited is committed to ensuring a ceaseless supply of products”, the oil company stated.
