Workers demand reduction in pump prices of fuel

Amid the continued fall of global crude oil prices, the Trade Union Congress, TUC, of Nigeria has asked the federal government to take advantage of the window to reduce the retail price of petroleum products in the country.

The price of crude oil, which has shed close to about 40 per cent from its pre-July level of over $80 per barrel, dropped to about $51.91 per barrel on Friday, January 2, 2015, compared with $52 on Wednesday

According to TUC, the best time to review the retail pump price of premium motor spirit, PMS, popularly called petrol at the filling stations across the country was now, in line with the argument put forward by government in 2012 when the price was adjusted from N70 per litre to the current N97.

On December 17, 2014, during the presentation of the analysis of the 2015 budget details, Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had said that the federal government was already awaiting the revised pricing template from the Petroleum and Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA to guide the appropriate decision on the issue.

According to the minister, the government was careful to avoid taking a decision to adjust the pump price now that the price of crude oil was yet to stabilise, only to be compelled to review it again soon after.

Credit: PremiumTimes