Economy

NANS calls for reversal of hike in pump price, threatens nationwide protest

Funmi Lawrence

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has called for the reversal in the increment in petroleum pump price to avert students uprising scheduled to hold on March 12.

The association made this known in a statement signed by Mr Lukman Adebisi,
NANS National Secretary and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.

Adebisi said that the persistent increment in petroleum pump price had brought untold hardship to all Nigerians especially students of tertiary institutions.

He said that the resultant effect of these unending increments had been the hyperinflation witnessed in this country which had affected the common welfare of the people.

According to him, NANS can no longer pretend that everything is fine even when the majority of our students and Nigerians continue to suffer from the unending increment we have witnessed since the deregulation of the sector.

“ We, therefore, call on the Federal Government to immediately announce a reversal of the pump price to N162 or risk the greatest student uprising on Friday, March 12, 2021.

“This is necessary to alleviate the suffering of Nigerians who have suffered from all angles in the last two years, especially since the deregulation of the sector.

“You will recall Nigerians have witnessed over 100% hike in electricity tariff since the scourge of COVID-19 Pandemic and also a consistent increment in pump price.

“ These increments are coming at a time other nations are doing everything humanly possible to relieve their citizens of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Adebisi added that NANS Economic Advisory Committee noted the recent increment was occasioned by the increment in the price of crude, lack of local capacity to refine, importation of petroleum products, devaluation of naira, taxes, import duties, and the challenges with import parity prices in the calculation of petroleum product landing cost.

He, therefore, noted that the majority of these challenges would have died a natural death should our national refineries be functioning at full capacity.

“ The government must intervene now to ensure that Nigerians do not continue to suffer from the negative effect of this increment.

“ NANS believes that since the crude was benchmarked at $40 per barrel in the 2021 budget and the product is now sold at an average of $60 across all market, it is important for the Federal Government to use the excess in ensuring price stability of the retail price of petroleum products.

“ We also wish to remind the Federal Government that many of our parents in many states of the federation still earn below the national minimum wage of N30,000 which in itself has become too low given the economic reality of this time.

“ We will therefore be left with no alternative than to troupe out in our numbers across all states of the federation to protest this increment in petroleum pump price as our welfare, mobility, power, etc depend so much on the retail price of PMS,” he said.

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