Sola Adeyemo 
…Says High Petroleum Prices Suffocating Nigerian Masses
A chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Ambassador Olufemi Ajadi, has expressed worry over the recent report of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Product Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) that daily petrol consumption by Nigerians has crashed by 92 percent in recent time.
Ajadi expressed the concern and worry on Thursday while reacting to the report that “Daily Truck Out Report for September 2024, showed that consumption as of August 20, 2024, was 4.5 million litres per day as against daily petrol consumption as of May 2023 of 60, 000 million litres per day”.
Ajadi called the attention of the Federal Government to the current incapacitation by Nigerians, while urging the government to stop ridiculing the masses as they could no longer buy petrol into their vehicles despite the fact that Nigeria has abundance of crude oil.
To Ajadi, the current petroleum prices have forced many Nigerians to abandon their vehicles. He therefore called on President Bola Tinubu to intervene by reverting the current prices to old ones in order not to aggravate the suffering of the masses.
He recalled that NNPC Ltd has increased petrol price to N1,025 per litre at various outlets across the country from its old price of N865, thus prompting many independent marketers to dispense fuel per litre at between N1,100 and N1,300.
“The situation now has made Nigerians more impoverished than before President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, and I hereby urge the Federal Government, especially our President, who is also the Minster of Petroleum, to help instruct the NNPC to revert to the old price.
“As an economist, President Tinubu should realize and be reminded of the multiplier negative effects of continuous increase in the price of petrol. Nigerians are already suffering and their suffering at this time does not augur well for the country”, he said.
Ajadi, who was the governorship candidate of the NNPP in Ogun state in the 2023 elections, said the action of the NNPC has been suffocating Nigerians.
He called on the National Assembly and elder statesman in the country to work with the Presidency “and find lasting solution to this insensitive action of the NNPC”.
