Fashola calls for cut in fuel pump price As the global oil price continues to nose dive with its negative impact on the economies of oil producing nations, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has called for a downward review of the pump prices of petroleum products as part of measures to reduce the plight of Nigerians. The governor criticized the federal government’s reluctance to cut the pump prices of oil from N97 per litre to N70 or N80 in the country in response to the slump in the global oil price. He lamented that Nigerians were not receiving fair treatment from the Federal government like others in oil producing countries where the welfare of the citizens is paramount to the government of the day. According to him, Nigerians should now be enjoying cheap fuel if the price of oil has dropped globally, adding that even as Nigeria import the product, a major component has reduced in price matrix. “While this has reduced, the pump price of fuel in the country still remains the same. Then something is wrong. If the price increases in the country when the price of oil goes up globally, then it should also reduce when the price of oil drops. I understand I am not an economist; the federal government are the economists. But I have some logic and common sense to ask critical questions. For instance, if one buys flour at N10 per kilogramme, and the bread was sold at N1 per loaf; if the price of flour drops, the price of the bread should also change,” he argued. He appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan administration to follow the footstep of other oil producing countries such as Saudi-Arabia, Kuwait, Venezuela, Iran, and Libya, which he said, had reduced the pump price of oil products for their citizens. Fashola observed that the country’s oil sector has not been developed to address challenges confronting the nation especially unemployment, adding that some Nigerians are compelled to try to survive through any available means. Laying emphasis on how the oil sector would have addressed the unemployment challenges in the country, he cited the building of refinery by Dangote group in one of the free trade zones in the Country, adding that its construction alone will hire about 8,000 workers. “It means that workers on their daily movement will have need for transportation service, food and other services during work, and post construction. “So if we stop importing fuel and start building refineries and doing other right things; the economy will lift. If you build a gas grid for the country and a rough estimate indicated that by investing $5 billion, many businesses will begin to get gas and some of the power installations can also convert to gas and others, there would be sudden positive effect on the country’s economy. We will not be here talking about youth unemployment if the economy was doing well. There are so many businesses that are already shut down today because of either there was no power and the operational costs have made their products expensive. It has made it difficult for many companies to succeed,” he noted. Daily independent.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Dec 2014 11:55:01 +0000
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