The Presidency has revealed that Nigeria is currently the only country in West Africa enjoying the cheapest and most affordable price of fuel by some distance.
The information is coming amidst the hike in the cost of living brought about by the removal of petrol subsidy which has led to a corresponding increase in fuel prices
This was made known by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, while addressing State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Ngelale said noted that the market having been deregulated and liberalized would no longer allow a single entity to dominate the market.
OBSERVERTIMES report can authoritatively confirm that presidency insists that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has no plans to reintroduce any form of fuel subsidy or reverse the deregulation policy.
The clarification follows insinuations in some sections of the media that the Federal Government may temporarily be reintroducing fuel subsidy in the face of the increase in the landing cost of the product and skyrocketing price due to the free fall of the naira in the parallel market.
This disclosure is contained in a tweet post issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, on his official Twitter account on Tuesday, August 15, 2023, where he stated that there is no condition to support fuel price increase at this time.
No country in West Africa sells fuel below N700/litre
The Presidential media aide also noted that Tinubu approved that the chart containing prices of PMS in other countries be transmitted to Nigerians so as to show the cost of PMS in West African countries.
- He said, “In the graphic, what you will find is the present cost of refined Premium Motor Spirit at the pump in each of the West African nations that border us and I’ll just name some for example, even as I know, you will be showing your audiences the graphics, which the President has graciously approved for public release today.
- “Senegal at pump price today of N1,273 equivalent per litre; Guinea at N1,075 per litre, Côte d’ Ivore at N1,048 per litre equivalent in their currency, Mali N1,113 per litre, Central African Republic N1,414 per litre, Nigeria is presently averaging between N568 and N630 per litre.
- “We are presently the cheapest, most affordable purchasing state in the West African sub-region by some distance. There is no country that is below N700 per litre.
Fuel consumption drops in Nigeria
Ngelale pointed out that the daily consumption of fuel had dropped from 67 million litres to 46 million litres following the removal of the subsidy.
- He said, “So this is the backdrop we have seen that at the inception of our deregulation policy as of June 1 as Mr. President took office, we have seen the PMS consumption in the country drop immediately from 67 million litres per day , down to 46 million litres per day. The impact is evident.”
He further said that the President pleaded with Nigerians to be patient and bear with his administration.
- Ngelale added, “What it also does mean though, is that we are not at the end of the tunnel. There is still a bit of darkness to travel through to get towards the light. And we are pleading with Nigerians to please be patient with us. And as we promised from the beginning, we will be open with Nigerians, and will be transparent with them. And we are ready to show you exactly what it is that our nation is facing with respect to the illiquidity in the market in terms of foreign exchange, as a result of what is now known to have been a gross mismanagement of the Central Bank of Nigeria over the course of several years preceding this time.”