NUJ calls for immediate reversal of fuel price

The Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, has called on the authority to immediately reverse the upward review of the pump price of Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol.

Several fuel stations in the nation’s capital are dispensing the product for as high as N620 as against the earlier N537 recently announced by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL.

The development is presently generating reactions as stakeholders decry the level of hardship being imposed on citizens.

Reacting also, NUJ in a statement issued by its National Secretary, Shuainu Usman Leman, lamented that several Nigerians can no longer afford transportation fares to their work and business places due to the fuel hike.

The statement reads, “The Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, is alarmed by the just announced increase in the pump price of the Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, to N617 per liter in Abuja and N568 in Lagos, respectively.

“The development has already triggered an astronomical increase in transportation cost, with prices of food items soaring almost beyond the reach of many citizens even as users of generators to power their homes are already groaning uncontrollably under the present condition.

While we applaud the decision to remove the costly subsidy on fuel, we, however, caution against a hasty implementation of the policy without putting mitigating measures in place to cushion the excruciating effect.

“We are saddened by the fact that today, most people can hardly commute to work or other places of business without too much stress.

“We believe that this decision is overkill and urge that the situation be reversed immediately while adequate measures are considered and put in place to lessen the effect on ordinary Nigerians”.