The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has rejected federal government’s pinch in ex-depot price of fuel to N108 per litre, insisting on a new pricing template that should accommodate a pump price of between N60 and N70 per litre to reflect the crash in the price of crude oil and petroleum products on the international market.
The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, described the N108 ex-depot price as fraudulent and a far cry from the appropriate pump price template that should not exceed N70 given the prevailing situation in the international oil market.
The PDP noted that the N108 ex-depot price with a projected additional N9 per litre Expected Open Market price is therefore completely unacceptable to Nigerians.
“Moreover, the federal government has continued to shroud the indices and parameters it is using in determining domestic prices of petroleum products in secrecy. Such parameters obviously cannot be in tandem with the appropriate situation in the global industry.
“The PDP laments that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government has continued to shortchange unsuspecting Nigerians since the beginning of the year by refusing to end its corrupt interferences and allow market forces to determine pump price of fuel to reflect current global prices.
“Our party insists that the federal government has no reason to continue to fleece Nigerians particularly in the face of worsening economic crisis occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic which it had also failed to effectively handle.
“The PDP demands that the APC Federal Government should immediately reduce both the ex-depot and pump price as well as surrender the billions of naira accruable as overcharge from the inappropriate fuel pricing since the crash in crude oil price and channel the funds as palliatives to Nigerians,” the party said.
