Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has blamed the floating of the naira for the incessant petrol price hikes in Nigeria and not subsidy removal.
Festus Osifo, president of PENGASSAN, disclosed this and argued that Nigeria’s primary challenge was the government’s devaluation of the naira.
Osifo called for strategic management of Nigeria’s exchange rate and said the real issue was the naira devaluation, which was affecting many sectors of the country’s fabric, including petrol pricing.
According to Osifo, if the government had pegged the naira at N450 per dollar, petrol could have cost less than N400 per litre, even with subsidy removal.
He disclosed that TotalEnergies made $200 million in 2023, and multiplying that amount by N1,600 means that the Nigerian government was making much more money.
He disclosed that agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service were declaring juicy revenues.
He said those revenues were not from subsidy removal but from naira devaluation and FX rate fluctuations.
He said:
The Nigerian government devalued the local currency in 2023 to unify the FX markets.
However, the devaluation has had ripple effects on the economy, such as inflation and FX volatility.
As of Thursday, September 26, 2024, the Nigerian naira exchanged for N1,576 per dollar in the official market, an appreciation from the N1,667.44 it traded the previous day.
Analysts have expressed mixed feelings over the naira devaluation, saying the country was ill-prepared for such a significant monetary policy shift.
Senior banker and economist Janet Ogochukwu disclosed that the present government’s decision to float the country’s currency entirely was a significant misstep.
TimesNow.com.ng previously reported that the House of Representatives asked the Nigerian government to direct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and the Dangote Refinery on Thursday to allow independent marketers to begin product lifting from the newly built Dangote Refinery.
The Reps resolved following adopting a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by the member representing Yenogoa/Opokuma Federal Constituency, Bayelsa, Oboku Oforji.
Oforji said that the lawmakers are worried that the NNPC and significant marketers are exclusive distributors of Dangote petrol, which creates a monopoly.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at TimesNow.com.ng.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
