The Federal Government has defended the current price of petrol in Nigeria, crediting the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and stating that the cost remains significantly lower than global averages.
The Executive Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, made this known on Tuesday during the commissioning of the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
According to him, “Nigeria enjoys comparatively lower petrol prices despite recent increases, noting that the cost of the commodity is about 50 per cent below the global average.
“People complain that the pump price is expensive, but as a data-driven student of economics, I brought the facts. The price of petrol in Nigeria is approximately $0.88 per litre”, Adedeji said.
In the United States, it is $1.70, in India, it is 25 per cent higher; and in South Africa, it is 35 per cent higher. Globally, our prices are 50 per cent lower because you allowed local refineries to work,” he added.
Adedeji noted that the removal of petrol subsidy at the start of Tinubu’s administration led to a sharp increase in prices, rising from below N200 per litre to nearly N1,000.
Since the outbreak of the Middle East war, however, prices have climbed further to around N1,200 per litre, depending on location.
Despite this, he maintained that supply has remained stable, attributing the development to increased local refining capacity, particularly from the Dangote Refinery.
“Mr President, if those difficult decisions hadn’t been made, petrol supply security would be non-existent,” he said.
“We would be facing massive queues, and fuel would be both expensive and unavailable.
”Today, supply is stable because it is easier to wait for deliveries from Lekki than to wait for imports from Europe,” he added.
‘You Made The Impossible Possible’
Adedeji also praised the Federal Government’s Naira-for-crude policy, describing it as a landmark decision that has repositioned Nigeria in the global energy market.
“I have studied political philosophy and economic history, and I know of no other instance where a nation sold its primary resource in its own local currency rather than a foreign reserve currency,” he said.
Recounting a conversation with the president, he added: “I remember vividly that Sunday when you called me and said, ‘Zacch, get your pen; I want to sell crude in Naira.’
“I replied, ‘Mr President, crude is always benchmarked in dollars.’ You insisted, ‘Go and do this.’ You made the impossible possible. Because of that vision, we have no queues today.”
He further noted that Nigeria has transitioned from being a net importer to a net exporter of petroleum products, citing reports that businessman Aliko Dangote was already supplying cargoes of refined products to other African countries.
“We have moved from being a net importer to a net exporter, with reports showing Aliko supplying 17 cargoes to other African countries,” Adedeji said.
