Today, the capital of Edo State, Benin City, stands still as a surge of residents takes to the streets to voice their dissent against the Federal Government’s termination of fuel subsidies. Economic and social undertakings have come to a halt, disrupted by the masses’ collective outcry.
Waving placards, the demonstrators are marching through key arteries of the city, calling on the Federal Government to restore the pump price to N210 until July 2023. Their demands hinge on the provision that any subsidy removal should be counterbalanced by the government refurbishing Nigeria’s four refineries to commence petrol refining for domestic usage.
Placards echoing the crowd’s sentiments are widespread, bearing messages such as “Petrol must be N210 till July Ended” and “We can’t buy petrol at N520 but N210.”
President Bola Tinubu, during his inaugural address as Nigeria’s 16th president, announced the cessation of subsidies on petrol or premium motor spirit (PMS) at the Eagle Square in Abuja. This announcement was swiftly followed by nationwide panic buying and hoarding, leading to long queues at filling stations and exacerbating fuel scarcity.
In the backdrop of this unrest, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) unveiled a revised pricing list for its mega stations across the country’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, hours before a scheduled meeting with organized labor representatives. The new pump prices range from N488 per litre in Lagos to as high as N557 in Yobe and Borno states. In contrast, prices stand at N537 in Abuja and N520 in Enugu.
In response to the new pricing structure, Comrade Joe Ajero, the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), vehemently opposed the changes, stating that Nigerians would not tolerate any machinations from any parties, particularly government representatives. He cautioned against removing the subsidy without an adequate plan in place to soften the impact on working-class and impoverished Nigerians who bear the brunt of these decisions.
