Get used to fuel price hikes, Buhari government tells Nigerians

Petrol pump price will increase any time there is a hike in global fuel prices and Nigerians should get used to it, the Muhammadu Buhari government has said.

Minister of state for petroleum Timipre Sylva mafe the comment after meeting with President Buhari in Abuja on Monday. The meeting followed last week’s increase in fuel price.

“Petrol is refined from crude oil, so petrol price is directly related to the price of crude oil in the market,” Sylva told reporters after the meeting.

“So, if I buy crude oil at a certain price and refine this month, if the crude price is low at the time, then my petrol price will become low because the feedstock from which I refined petrol was lower in price.

“If the price of crude oil goes up, then it means the price of the feedstock has gone higher, it will also affect the price of the refined product and that is why you see that product prices are usually not static, it depends on the price of crude oil, which goes up and down.”

“If you have been following crude oil prices, you would have seen that crude oil prices went up a little bit, as a result of this (vaccine) announcement.

“So, when crude oil prices go up a little bit, then you will see that it instantly reflects on the price of petrol, which is a derivative of crude oil.

“That’s why you see that there’s this movement and if we listen to ourselves, this is the same explanation we’ve been giving.”

The minister said because of deregulation, the government was not longer in the business of fixing fuel price.

“Just take the example of our production levels; our crude oil production level was over two million barrels a day. Today, to comply with OPEC cut and quota, we have reduced production to 1.4 million barrels.

“Having reduced production to 1.4 million barrels, crude oil is also not selling at an optimal rate. Where do you get the money to continue to subsidise?

“It is very clear that today; things are not as they were before. The earnings of government has reduced by 60 percent and what is happening in the oil sector reflect what is happening elsewhere.

“I believe that at this point, we are still trying to cross the first buck. We will get there; we will get used to it as Nigerians.”