Nigerians will get used to deregulated prices of petrol —- FG

Chinazor Megbolu |

The Federal Government of Nigeria has said that Nigerians will get used to petrol deregulation soonest.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva disclosed this on Monday, saying the citizenry will get used to the deregulation of the pump price of petrol just same way they adjusted to similar actions with diesel and kerosene.

Speaking to newsmen after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, he said petrol is mostly used by the elites while diesel and kerosene are more important to the ordinary citizens.

He hinted that trucks that move food products from one part of the country to another utilise diesel and that most Nigerians use kerosene, which has since been deregulated.

“Look at it, a situation where diesel has been deregulated long ago, a situation where kerosene has been deregulated long ago, and these are the fuels the poorest people in Nigeria interact with more. Why do I say that?.

“If you want to transport food from the north to the south, it will be by trucks that are run by diesel, not with petrol. Those trucks that transport food from the north to the south are usually run by diesel.

“Kerosene is the preferred fuel at the lowest level of our society.

“These have been deregulated long ago. So, what is the problem with deregulating petrol, which is mostly used by the elite?

“Let us be fair to this country, let us be fair to the poor people in this country.

“If we have deregulated what they were using, then there is actually no reason why we should continue to subsidise petrol. I feel so. That’s my personal feeling,” he said.

Recall that last Friday, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), increased the depot price of petrol to N155.17.