The Petroleum Resources Minister of State, Timipre Sylva, on Monday, explained the recent hike in fuel pump price from between ₦158 and ₦162 per litre to ₦168 and ₦170.
Sylva said that to the ordinary Nigerian, kerosene and diesel are more useful than petrol, which he claimed was mostly used by the elite.
He stated this about the fuel price increase while speaking to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday after his regular briefing of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Sylva said: ‘Look at it, a situation where diesel has been deregulated long ago, a situation where kerosene has been deregulated long ago, and these are the fuels the poorest people in Nigeria interact with more. Why do I say that?’
‘If you want to transport food from the north to the south, it’ll be by trucks that are run by diesel, not with petrol. Those trucks that transport food from the north to the south are usually run by diesel.’
‘Kerosene is the preferred fuel at the lowest level of our society. These have been deregulated long ago. So, what’s the problem with deregulation of petrol, which is mostly used by the elite?’
‘Let us be fair to this country, let us be fair to the poor people in this country.’
‘If we’ve deregulated what they were using, then there’s actually no reason why we should continue to subsidise petrol. I feel so. That’s my personal feeling.’
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
