By Chimaobi Afiauwa, Abuja
Nigerians on Tuesday morning were badly hit with the news of the hike in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly called fuel, throwing motorists and commuters into further helplessness as they were still grappling with the initial price increase of the product from N200 to a little above N500 by President Bola Tinubu.
The pump price of petrol was raised from N537 per liter to N617 at some filling stations operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in Abuja.
This comes amid the continued downward spiral of the naira and the worsening inflation crisis in the country.
Independent oil marketers confirmed the increase in the cost of PMS, as they stated that any shift in price by NNPCL stations was an indication of a rise in the pump price of the product.
“This is because NNPCL is still the major importer of petrol into Nigeria currently, though other marketers are gradually importing the commodity. The price this (Tuesday) morning at some NNPCL stations is N617/liter,” the Secretary, of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mohammed Shuaibu, told Newsmen in Abuja.
In Abuja, at least two NNPC stations visited had adjusted their price from N539 to N617 per liter, with other stations even selling higher, our correspondent reports.
The case was the same in other parts of the country our correspondents visited, as there had been an increase in the pump price.
In Lagos, the NNPC sold the product for N565 while some other stations sold it higher, and before the increase, they sold it for N484 to N488.
In Jos, the Plateau State capital, petrol is being sold at N617 on Tuesday, up from N537.
Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, the product sold at N620 per liter.
In Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, filling stations were seen selling petrol between N511 and N525 per liter, as motorists had thronged the NNPC outlets in the oil-rich state to buy at a cheaper price.
The price increase is the second significant jump in the price since May 29, when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced that the fuel subsidy was gone.
The free float of the naira, in line with President Tinubu’s promise of harmonizing various exchange rates seems not yielding the desired result in stabilizing the naira from its free fall against the dollar, which experts had warned could worsen inflation in the country.
Since Tinubu’s administration floated the naira, the Nigerian currency had since plummeted from below N500 per dollar on the official exchange windows to a record low of above N800 naira.
Many Economists had forewarned that these developments had inflationary implications and would negatively affect the price of goods, a prediction that has been borne out by the latest inflation figures released by the country’s Bureau of Statistics.
On Monday, the National Bureau of Statistics reported that Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 22.79% in June from the 22.41% recorded in May 2023.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu, during his inaugural address on May 29, announced that the subsidy on petrol had ended, a development that led to the jump in the price of the commodity from N198/liter to over N500/liter on May 30, 2023.
Since the withdrawal of subsidies on petrol and the floating of the naira against the dollar, marketers have continued to explain that the cost of PMS could rise to as high as N700 per liter.
