Reps Rejects Motion To Stop Petrol Price Increase

The House of Representatives has rejected a motion seeking to stop the increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS).

The motion was shutdown at Plenary on Wednesday after a member, Ugochinyere Ikenga raised the motion.

The motion was titled “The need to investigate the incessant increase in fuel pump price since the removal of petrol subsidy.”

Recall that on Wednesday, the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited reviewed its petrol pump price to N617.

This is coming months after the NNPCL directed its outlets nationwide to sell fuel between N480 and N570 per litre, an almost 200 per cent increase from the initial price below N200. prices which are different across the states of the Federation.

But the review on Wednesday was questioned by Ikenga, who alleged that the increase had become incessant and needed to be investigated.

He said, “Mr Speaker, this is the people’s house and we represent the Nigeria people, very soon with the way things are going fuel will be sold for 1,000 per litre.”

But members of the house voted against the amendment after Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu who presided over plenary questioned if it was in the place of the House to take such a position since pump price is controlled by the market forces.

However, the house resolved to carry out an investigation to ascertain the veracity of the increases.