Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, and the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) have called on the federal government to urgently reduce the price of petrol, arguing that Nigerians should not continue to bear the burden of high energy costs despite the country’s status as a major crude oil producer.
ASCAB, in a statement issued on Sunday, said the disruption of crude oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz following the ongoing war between the United States and Iran had pushed international crude prices above $100 a barrel, with potentially severe consequences for the global economy.
The group said the international crisis made it even more urgent for Nigeria to reduce its dependence on imported fuel pricing benchmarks and take advantage of its domestic crude production and refining capacity.
It cited a presentation by a United States-based petroleum expert, Prof. Izielen Agbon, at an ASCAB seminar on the state of the nation, where he challenged the basis of Nigeria’s fuel pricing system.
Quoting Agbon, the statement said it made little economic sense for Nigerians to pay more for Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) than consumers in Texas, arguing that the country’s history of petrol price increases and subsidy removal suggested that the so-called subsidy regime had been sustained by flawed production methods and accounting practices.
ASCAB said the international response to the current oil market disruption also demonstrated the need for governments to protect their citizens from the impact of energy price shocks.
It noted that G7 countries had announced plans to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency reserves in an effort to moderate prices, while several other countries had introduced measures to cushion the effect of rising energy costs.
The group, however, lamented that Nigeria, despite being a major oil-producing country, had failed to derive sufficient benefit from its domestic refining capacity.
It accused the NNPC of announcing in December 2024 that crude oil processing had commenced at the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries and that petroleum products were being delivered to the market, describing the claim as fraudulent.
While acknowledging ongoing efforts to revive the country’s refineries, ASCAB urged the federal government to reduce petrol prices without further delay.
It argued that the 450,000 barrels per day benchmark volume originally designated from the country’s equity crude for supply to the four refineries should be directed towards domestic refining and the resulting petroleum products sold to Nigerians at affordable prices.
The group said such a policy would provide immediate relief to consumers while reducing the country’s exposure to international fuel price shocks.
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