*Residents of North-East, South-East, North-West to pay more, as Ndigbo kick
The Nigerian National Petroleum (NNPC) Limited has directed oil marketers to increase the pump price of petrol to N189 per litre, from N162/N165 per litre earlier sold by its retail outlets and major marketers.
By the directive, NNPC is convinced that consumers in the North-East, South-East and North-West should pay the highest amount of money to purchase a liter of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) compared to other places across the country.
Residents of Lagos are to pay the least price of N169 per litter, followed by the residents of Abuja fixed at N174, while residents and commuters in the North-Central, South-West, South-South were categorised to pay a uniform price of N179 per litre.
This is the first time pump price differential would be announced officially in the country, apparently in tandem with the recently passed Petroleum Act.
But, the NNPC did not provide any reason for placing pump price in the South-East zone to be higher than the other souther parts of the country, for product sourced and moved only from the southern part of the country.
Same zone comes last in every public infrastructure, employment opportunities, citing of public industries and institutions and every other index, but when it comes to paying tariff the zone is classified higher, to the chagrin of Ndigbo and Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the apex socio-cultural body for the Igbo.
In the chat published by the regulatory company, Lagos fuel consumers would be paying a price differential of N4, Abuja N9, North-Central, South-West and South-South N14 each, while North-West and South-East will pay additional N19 per liter, while North-East will pay the highest price deferential of N24.
The ex-depot price was adjusted as follows: Lagos N160 – N163; Warri/Oghara, N162 – N165, while it costs N165 -N167 in Port-Harcout.
With Tuesday’s directive to marketers, almost all the filling stations across the country have readjusted their pump prices, except for those who are yet to do so, which still sealed off their premises, irrespective of whether or not they have PMS in their underground tanks.
The price adjustments did not also address the problem of fuel scarcity as black market operators still have a field day, while adjusting their prices upwards to as much as N4,000 per 10 liter jerry can.
Meanwhile, top Igbo personalities have protested the new pump price, wondering why the Federal Government always assigns higher tariff to the zone, even when the zone is literally neglected.
Prince Okechukwu Nwabuko, wondered how NNPC arrived at the price, saying that it showed the continued marginalisation of the zone by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government of President Muhammadu Buhari.
On his part, Chief Udenta Boniface, appealed to the government to adjust the price in the South-East downward as classifying the zone with war-ravaged North-East and North-West shows deep-seated hatred against Igbo people.
Similarly, Chief Innocent Okoye, wondered why a government that always denied the South-East people employment opportunities, infrastructural development and other things, would always slam higher rates to people in the zone.
“Apart from prisons, tell me which other federal structure that is working in the South-East? Government does not even maintain police stations in the zone and they leave the people to purchase all they need. Yet, everytime prices are to be jacked up, we always get unfair share of such.
“This tells you that people who are not where things are fixed, are always not put into consideration except when it is pains that will be inflicted,” he said.
