NAN – Abuja residents on Thursday urged the Federal Government to reduce the fuel pump price, following the fall in oil price in the international market.
The price of oil began to slide in October 2014, hovering between 60 and 50 dollars per barrel.
Some respondents told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that it was international best practice for the pump price to come down when the oil price crashed.
Alhaji Hassan Giwa, a civil servant, said that government ought to have reacted to the fall in oil price by reducing the fuel pump price to N46 per litre.
“When crude oil was selling for about 100 dollars, we were asked to pay N97 per liter of petrol, now that it is selling for 52 dollars it should be reduced to at least N45 and N47,”he said.
According to him, most Nigerians are not happy with the attitude government had adopted towards the review of the pump price of petrol in the face of the crash in oil market.
He said that it was logical for a seller to sell the products at a lower price when he wais buying the products at a lower price from the market.
“In case of the Nigerian economy, it is when there is limited money in circulation that prices of goods and services go up,” he said.
Mr Philip Onu, a businessman, said that government should do the needful by reducing the fuel pump price in line with the fall in oil price at the international market.
According to him, there is no reason for government to drag its feet on the call by Nigerians to reduce the pump price.
“For goodness sake, governance is all about the welfare of the people and not what the people in government want; so I urge the leadership to act immediately, ” he said.
He stressed that the government had promised Nigerians before now that it would operate according to the market forces.
Mr Fatai Ajala, a taxi driver, said that government should listen to the call by Nigerians to reduce the pump price to at least N50.
He said that the reduction would reduce the pressure on Nigerians following the recent introduction of austerity measures by government.
A consultant, Mr Phil Mojekwu who differed, said that the idea of bringing down the pump price of fuel would be counter productive as the country depended on oil for its revenue
“Left for me, the pump price of fuel should remain on the N97 per litre, to enable government to carry out its operations
