The Nigerian House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected an amendment to a motion seeking to suspend the recent increase in the pump price of petrol. The proposed amendment, which called for an investigation into the increases in petrol prices since the removal of fuel subsidy, was put forward by Hon. Ugochinyere Ikenga. However, the House voted against it as Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu questioned the House’s position in controlling pump prices, stating that they are determined by market forces.
Instead of suspending the price increase, the House resolved to conduct an investigation to verify the reasons behind the increases. On Tuesday, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) raised the pump price of petrol from N537 to N617 per litre, marking the second increase in less than two months. In May, shortly after President Bola Tinubu assumed office, the fuel price was raised from N195 to N537 per litre following the removal of fuel subsidy.
The removal of fuel subsidy by the Tinubu-led federal government has been a contentious issue, with the government arguing that discontinuing subsidy payments would result in substantial savings for the country. In the first half of 2023 alone, Nigeria spent N3.6 trillion on fuel subsidy. The federal government estimates that ending fuel subsidies would save close to N6.7 trillion. According to the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Nigeria has spent a total of N13.7 trillion on fuel subsidy in the past 13 years.
