Anambra State has urged the Federal Government to provide palliatives and increase investment in agriculture and other critical sectors of the economy to cushion the effects of the petrol subsidy removal on Nigerians.
Anthony Ifeanya, the commissioner for petroleum and mineral resources, said in Awka on Sunday that the current hike in the pump price of petrol has continued to affect the nation’s economic value chain
Ifeanya said the subsidy removal, which has resulted in inflation, has weakened the naira and required the citizens to tighten belt and cut down on lifestyles, among other survival measures.
According to him, the policy is for the good of the country, while urging the citizens to bear the pain.
Ifeanya, who noted that the current fuel price was almost the same as in other neighbouring African countries, however, called for the revival of local and modular refineries to bring down the price of the commodity.
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He said efforts were ongoing by the state government in partnership with the private sector, for the establishment of local refineries.
Chinedu Anyaso, chairman, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Enugu depot, covering Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi, attribute the latest rise in petrol price was due to the dollar exchange rate and drop in fuel supplies by the OPEC.
Meanwhile, Christian Chibuzor, director of a mass transit company, has lamented the immediate implication of the fuel price hike. He said that it has led to an increase in transportation costs and reduced the number of passengers.
However, a commercial bus driver on Awka–Onitsha route, Ugochukwu Nnanna said though buying a litre of petrol at above N600 is negatively affecting his business, his transport union has not approved any increase in fare.
He appealed to the government to provide adequate measures to reduce the suffering of the masses in the country.
