New Petrol Prices Hit Filling Stations As CPPE Rejects Call for Fuel Subsidy Return
- Petrol prices climbed to between N1,400 and N1,450 per litre across major Nigerian cities, Legit.ng checks showed
- The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise pushed back against calls to restore the universal fuel subsidy regime
- CPPE CEO Dr Muda Yusuf urged the government to channel subsidy savings into transport, energy, food security and MSMEs
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Motorists across Nigeria are now paying as much as N1,450 per litre at filling stations following another round of petrol price increases, with the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) warning that reinstating a universal fuel subsidy would be fiscally damaging and economically unsound.
Legit.ng checks conducted on Sunday, September 13, found that pump prices in Lagos ranged from N1,400 to N1,430 per litre at most filling stations, while MRS stations were selling at roughly N1,395 per litre.
Source: Getty Images
In Abuja, motorists were paying between N1,400 and N1,450 per litre, adding to the financial strain on households and businesses that rely on petrol for transport and power generation.
Previously, petrol prices averaged N1,300 per litre.
CPPE Rejects Subsidy Return
In a policy brief issued and made available to Legit.ng, CPPE Chief Executive Officer Dr Muda Yusuf acknowledged that the price increases had created serious hardship for consumers and businesses, but firmly opposed a return to the old subsidy arrangement, the Nation reports.
Yusuf said:
"Restoring the pre-reform universal subsidy regime is neither fiscally sustainable nor economically prudent.
"The appropriate policy direction is to preserve the downstream petroleum reforms while aggressively mitigating their social and economic costs."
He argued that the debate should shift from whether to restore subsidies to how governments at all levels are deploying the revenues freed by their removal.
He said:
"The issue is increasingly one of fiscal accountability and expenditure quality. Federal, state and local governments must demonstrate transparently how the additional fiscal resources arising from the reform are improving economic and social outcomes."
Government Urged to Cut Transport and Energy Costs
Yusuf called for significant investment in mass transit, rail freight and logistics networks to bring down transportation costs. He also urged the government to speed up the rollout of Compressed Natural Gas, solar energy and other alternatives to reduce reliance on petrol.
On food security, he pressed for more investment in irrigation, rural infrastructure and agricultural logistics to boost domestic food production and ease inflation.
Source: Getty Images
The CPPE chief also highlighted the particular pressure facing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, noting that rising costs across energy, transport and financing were squeezing their competitiveness.
Yusuf said:
"Citizens must see tangible benefits through improved public transportation, electricity, healthcare, education, food security, infrastructure and social protection."
He closed by framing the long-term goal as converting the gains of the fuel subsidy reform into structural economic improvements rather than a return to the previous regime, Punch reports.
He said:
"That is the pathway to making the reform economically sustainable and socially defensible."
Dangote raises petrol price 3 times in 9 days
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Dangote Petroleum Refinery raised its Premium Motor Spirit gantry price by N65 on August 29, bringing the figure to N1,265 per litre and marking the third upward adjustment in less than two weeks.
The refinery had previously moved its PMS price from N1,165 to N1,185 per litre on August 20, then again to N1,200.
Taken together, the three increases added N100 per litre to the refinery's benchmark price in nine days.
Source: Legit.ng
