Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has spoken against the increase in the price of premium motor spirit also known as petrol.
Although the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) raised the ex-depot price of petrol to N151.56 per litre from N138.62, PMS is sold in filling stations across the country between N160 to N162.
Atiku said in a tweet on Tuesday that he could not understand how fuel price would increase despite deregulation and crude oil price lower in the international market than in 2019.
“I am a businessman. I look at things from an economic perspective. Questions beg answers. The price of crude is down from where it was in 2019. In the US and Europe, fuel prices are far lower than they were in 2019. If we truly deregulated, shouldn’t fuel price have dropped?” the former presidential candidate asked.
The Federal Government had said fuel price would now be determined by market forces following the removal of subsidy.
Atiku had on September 3 also protested against the increase in electricity tariff.
“I reject the increased electricity tariffs. Coming out of the lockdown, Nigerians need a stimulus, not an impetuous disregard for the challenges they face. Many Nigerians have not earned an income for months, due to no fault of theirs. This increase is ill-timed and ill-advised,” he wrote.
