The Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, or gasoline pump price increase has been requested to be promptly reversed by the authority, according to the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ.
According to the Platinum Times, fuel marketers revealed a new nationwide pump price on Tuesday.
As opposed to the earlier N537 recently stated by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, certain petrol outlets in the nation’s capital are now selling the product for as much as N620.
Stakeholders are currently reacting to the development as they criticize the degree of hardship being placed on citizens.
In retaliation, the NUJ stated that many Nigerians are now unable to afford the transportation costs to their places of employment and business due to the fuel price increase in a statement released by its National Secretary, Shuainu Usman Leman.
The statement reads, “The Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, is alarmed by the just announced increase in the pump price of the Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, to N617 per liter in Abuja and N568 in Lagos, respectively.
“The development has already triggered an astronomical increase in transportation cost, with prices of food items soaring almost beyond the reach of many citizens even as users of generators to power their homes are already groaning uncontrollably under the present condition.
“While we applaud the decision to remove the costly subsidy on fuel, we, however, caution against a hasty implementation of the policy without putting mitigating measures in place to cushion the excruciating effect.
“We are saddened by the fact that today, most people can hardly commute to work or other places of business without too much stress.
“We believe that this decision is overkill and urge that the situation be reversed immediately while adequate measures are considered and put in place to lessen the effect on ordinary Nigerians”.