Fuel chaos #Day 2: Nigerians pay dearly after Tinubu subsidy remark

Nigerians faced a second day of chaos as the price of petrol soared across the country on Wednesday, after President Bola Tinubu declared an end to fuel subsidy in his inaugural address.

Fuel marketers responded to the speech within minutes on Monday by increasing their prices or not selling at all as they scrambled to take advantage of a new policy that is bound to make life more difficult for millions of citizens.

Mr Tinubu said the Buhari administration had no provision for fuel subsidy in the 2023 budget beyond June, adding “so fuel subsidy is gone.” By Tuesday, a litre of petrol rose from less than N200 to as high as N500 in several cities including Abuja and Lagos.

In Akwa Ibom state and Abia, where most filling stations halted sales, residents told Pluboard the product sold in the black market for N800 a litre and as high as N1200 in neighbouring Abia state.

Long fuel queues returned to many cities as motorists rushed to fill their tanks. In Lagos and Abuja, motorists crammed outlets that sold at the regulated price of 185 to 195 naira a litre. Some sold petrol for as much as 500 naira.

By late Tuesday, representatives of the government tried to ease the confusion with a now deleted statement saying Mr Tinubu’s remark was not a new development and the rush to purchase petrol was “needless”.

“He was merely communicating the status quo, considering that the previous administration’s budget for fuel subsidy was planned and approved to last for only the first half of the year,” the statement by the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Media Centre said.

“Effectively, this means that by the end of June, the federal government will be without funds to continue the subsidy regime, translating to its termination. The panic-buying that has ensued as a result of the communication is needless; it will not take immediate effect.”

– Growing hardship

Hoarding of the product and price increase continued on Wednesday, nonetheless.

Users online shared photos of filling stations run by the government oil company, NNPC Ltd, selling petrol as high as N488, N511 and N537 in parts of Lagos and Abuja.

Wokeup early to get fuel at NNPC Mega station Abuja & NNPC decided to run us street by selling @N537
Everything in this country Nigeria seems to be illegal

Budgeted Mandate: Renewed Hope
Actual Mandate: Renewed Shege

Rufai Alex Otti Tinubu Obasanjo Peter Obi 600 Naira ISWAP pic.twitter.com/g2aiT3D86b

— Nwanne Henry *ORA* (@TheAccountaant) May 31, 2023

NNPC: There Is No Need for Panic Purchase, Price remains ₦185.

NNPC the Next: ₦537 Per Litre

If salaries and minimum wage is not adjusted too to cushion the effect, this will be a longer ride.

|Mr. Peter Obi |Godwin Emefiele| #IDAN| 600 Naira|Subsidy|#protest | #Tinubu pic.twitter.com/RfvvNjTJCR

— Raant TV (@raant_tv) May 31, 2023

The increase is already affecting transport rates and prices of food items and many expect things to get worse in the coming days.

The Nigerian Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress said it was opposed to the removal of subsidy. The NLC said the government has reached out for talks.

“Government seems to have shown interest in discussion. As at last night, they reached out and we have fixed 2pm today (Wednesday) to commence discussion,” NLC National President, Joe Ajaero, said Wednesday on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.

– Outstanding payment

The major fuel marketers body, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), which supports the policy, said that its members were still selling at the normal price.

“Subsidy is going to end by June and we tried to inform and highlight to our members not to our members, they should not panic, they should just continue selling the product at their filling stations at the appropriate pricing,” IPMAN national public relations officer, Yakubu Suleiman, said.

The NNPC Ltd said the government could no longer afford to pay for the costly fuel subsidy. Petrol subsidy, first introduced in the 1970s and worth about over N4 trillion or $10 billion dollars annually.

“The reality is that from today the government can no longer afford to pay for fuel subsidies as a nation,” Mele Kyari, the NPPC chief executive told reporters after a meeting with President Tinubu on Wednesday.

He said NNPC spends N400 billion monthly on subsidising the petrol price, nd was owed 2.8 trillion naira in outstanding subsidy payments by the government.