THE Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria (NOGASA) – the umbrella body of the Petroleum Marketers, has urged the Nigerian government to maintain a uniform price in foreign exchange (FX) while transacting with petroleum marketers or risk industrial action.
The President of NOGASA, Beneth Korie, disclosed this at a press conference on Tuesday, February 19.
He said that the non-uniform price regime for the union and the naira’s freefall was the major cause of high energy prices.
He observed that foreign exchange volatility had exposed Nigerian petroleum marketers and businesses to avoidable risks, causing pain to citizens.
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“When you go to the market, one dollar exchanges for N1,500/$ on Monday, and N1,600/$ on Tuesday, how do you expect the marketer to be in business? The naira’s free fall is creating problems for the marketer and the banks that gave him loans for business,” he said.
“Most filling stations are under lock and key and if care is not taken, from now till month end, the system will naturally shut down itself before we even think of going on strike,” he added.
Korie suggested that the government use a uniform rate of N750/$, which was the budget benchmark peg to restore the Nigerian economy amid the naira’s freefall.
“Heaven will not fall if the government uses a uniform FX rate with N750/$ benchmark. Marketers can buy from NNPCL at this rate in naira. It will strengthen the naira and stop this dollarisation. Our economy is too big to fail if we do the right thing and stop all this high inflation ravaging our economy,” he stated.
He also recommended that the refined petroleum product be sold in naira by the NNPCL; otherwise, the union would embark on industrial action.
Besides, he advised the government to peg the diesel price the way it did to fuel to stop the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) from embarking on industrial action.
“NARTO is our union member, and we understand their concerns. The price of diesel is rising the way the dollar is rising. We urge the government to find a way and peg the price of diesel the way it did to PMS. They should also repair the roads because our members are suffering to transport these products to various states of the federation. There are also issues of bridging the cost gap of transporting the products across the country, which the government owes billions of naira to our union members,” he added.
The ICIR reported that businesses and the economy were receiving heat over the negative impacts of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s floating of the naira, which has led to more troubles for businesses and the dollarisation of the economy.
The naira free fall led to the Nigerians saving their money in dollars, further putting pressure on the naira and leading to high inflation.
Already, there are pockets of protests across the country, of which a possible fuel price hike could trigger a wider problem with the organised labour gearing up to commence nationwide protests scheduled for February 27 and 28.
“All together, we’ve seen the currency lose up to 40 per cent in the eight months of Tinubu’s government, yet its value continues to depreciate. This is a huge concern for businesses and investor confidence,” said a financial analyst, Dumebi Oluwole.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.