The House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected an amendment to a motion seeking to suspend the recent increase in the pump price of petrol.
Our Source gathered that the amendment was proposed by Hon. Ugochinyere Ikenga, who called for an investigation into the increases in the price of petrol since the removal of the petrol subsidy.
However, the House voted against the amendment after Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu who presided over plenary questioned if it was in the place of the House to take such a position since pump price is controlled by the market forces.
The House instead resolved to investigate and ascertain the veracity of the increases.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) increased the pump price of petrol, known as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), from N537 to N617 per liter on Tuesday.
This is the second in less than two months.
In May, a day after President Bola Tinubu was sworn into office, the NNPC increased the fuel price from N195 per liter to N537 per liter
These increases follow the Tinubu-led federal government’s removal of fuel subsidies
In the first half of 2023, Nigeria spent N3.6 trillion on fuel subsidies alone. According to the Federal Government, the country will save close to N6.7 trillion if fuel subsidies payment is discontinued.
Nigeria has spent N13.7 trillion on fuel subsidies in the last 13 years, according to Nigeria’s Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
