Vice President Kashim Shettima has summoned key officials to the Presidential Villa in Abuja to address the recent dramatic increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol. The meeting, held on Thursday, included Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.
The meeting comes in response to the recent petrol price by NNPCL, which has seen the cost soar from N617 and N568 per litre to N855 and N897 per litre at retail outlets nationwide. Some independent marketers have further raised prices to between N930 and N1,200 per litre, exacerbating the burden on consumers.
This increase has sparked widespread outrage and criticism from various quarters. The major opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), and Trade Union Congress (TUC) have all condemned the federal government’s handling of the situation, calling the move insensitive to the plight of ordinary Nigerians.
The surge has had a cascading effect on transportation costs across the country, with some areas reporting a 50% rise in fares. Both the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and the Tricycle Owners Association of Nigeria (TOAN) while lamenting the sharp increase have called on the federal and state governments to urgently address the issue to prevent further damage to the transport sector.
