Lagos, July 19, 2023: The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has said the recent increase of petrol was quite unfortunate and worrisome in spite of the ongoing challenges that businesses and Nigerians were facing.
The Director-General of NECA, Mr Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, who kicked against the price adjustment, said on Tuesday in Lagos that the timing was rather unfortunate.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has further adjusted the pump prices of Petrol, known as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) from N537 to N617 per litre.
Oyerinde noted that rather than the prices of fuel becoming more competitive, coming down, it was taking a different trajectory of going up which was compounding the already difficult position of organised businesses, households and employees.
“Our position remains: it will be unfortunate to incapacitate those that you are trying to save.
“We know that we canvass for the removal of fuel subsidy, but the point is we cannot connect why the NNPCL is still fixing prices when it is supposed to be a deregulated environment.
“Also, where supply and demand is supposed to determine prices and we also know that in the first two weeks of subsidy removal the consumption level dropped and if it dropped, it shows that the forces of demand and supply should be allowed to continuously play its role, “ he said.
The NECA boss said that the association was in support of the steps President Bola Tinubu’s had taken within the context of the fiscal and monetary policy framework.
He, however, urged government to take dispassionate look at the issues and those reforms should allow Nigerians to breathe.
“So, whatever actions government needs to take, it needs to take those actions now, so that we can bend, cut curve and focus on issues concerning growth.
“We also appreciate the fact that once you are in a hole, the first thing you stop doing is to stop digging; so, while you stop digging, you should make conscious effort to get out of the hole as quickly as possible.
“We know we are in a hole and government has taken a bit of steps to stabilise us, but we should stop the trajectory of the pain and the sacrifices that we expect Nigerians to endure; moreso, when we are not seeing a corresponding sacrificial action from government, “ Oyerinde said.
