AS Nigeria celebrates her 60th Independence Anniversary, President, Muhammadu Buhari says makes no sense for Premium Motor Spirits (PMS) otherwise known as petrol to be cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia.
Buhari said this during his nationwide broadcast to commemorate the country’s independence from the British.
“Petroleum prices in Nigeria are to be adjusted. We sell now at N161 per litre. A comparison with our neighbours will illustrate the point,” the President.
“Chad which is an oil-producing country charges N362 per litre, Niger, also an oil-producing country sells 1 litre at N346, in Ghana, another oil-producing country, the petroleum pump price is N326 per litre.”
“Further afield, Egypt charges N211 per litre. Saudi Arabia charges N168 per litre. It makes no sense for oil to be cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia,” he added.
He noted that sustaining the level of petroleum prices in Nigeria is no longer possible stating that his government, since coming into office has recognized the economic argument for adjusting the price of petroleum.
Buhari stated that the government has also suffered a 60 per cent reduction in revenue occasioned by the drop in oil prices and reduced economic activities due to Coronavirus pandemic.
“In addition to public health challenges of working to contain the spread of the Coronavirus, we have suffered a significant drop in our foreign exchange earnings and internal revenues due to a 40 per cent drop in oil prices and a steep drop in economic activities, leading to a 60 per cent drop in government revenue,” the president stated.
The President reiterated his commitment to protecting lives and properties of citizens and residents of the country urging Nigerians to provide community-level intelligence to the government.
“As a government, we remain committed to our constitutional oath of securing the lives and properties of the citizenry. I, however, call on the citizenry to also support the government by providing the necessary community-level intelligence in addressing these challenges,” he further noted.
Buhari urged Nigerians to work together with the government by focusing on ways to resolve the identified ‘critical challenges’ of the country.
According to the President, the critical challenges include evolving and sustaining a democratic culture that leaves power in the hands of the people, supporting the enthronement of the rule of law, demanding accountability of elected representatives and contributing to good governance, increasing our commitment to peaceful co-existence in a peaceful, secure and united Nigeria.
He also highlighted harnessing and optimizing our tremendous human and natural resources to attain our goal of being in the top twenty economies of the world and in the process, lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years, strengthening institutions to make them stronger in protecting National Interests and imbibing tolerance in diversity as part of the critical challenges.
