The Integrity Youth Alliance has berated the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) for calling for the immediate removal of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group Managing Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari, over the incessant hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol.
In a statement on Friday, July 21, 2023, signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Danjuma Lamido, and Patron, Comrade Adewole Kehinde, in Abuja, the statement said that it is absurd that the CUPP proponents’ personal motivations and disappointments have warped their judgment.
The Alliance argued that the recent increase in PMS pump prices from N537 to N617 per liter was caused by forces dictated by variations in foreign exchange brought on by global market forces.
“It is unfortunate that CUPP could allege that the fuel subsidy removal was a scam to cage Nigerians.
“We wish to enlighten the ignorance of the ‘one-man show CUPP’ that NNPC Limited no longer fixes prices or releases templates for petrol prices. Under the liberalized market, market forces are allowed to dictate prices.
“In a deregulated market, it is the market force that dictates the price—how much shipping, offshore, ex-depot, and ex-pump are.”
“The NNPC’s role is to fix the prices of the petrol it imports and not take over the responsibilities of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
“The so-called CUPP cannot claim ignorance that the Federal Government has officially scrapped petroleum equalization as well as the national transport allowance. Marketers are now free to source their foreign exchange anywhere in the world to import petroleum products and then recover their costs without impediments.
“The market structure will dictate the price swings at every point in time.”
The Alliance further emphasized that the removal of subsidies will free up allocations that can be channeled to the provision of infrastructure like roads, education, health services, power, security, the creation of jobs, the development of the downstream sector, improving GDP growth, clamping down on product theft, pipeline vandalism, environmental pollution, foreign exchange shortages, and the provision of basic benefits for Nigerians.
