President Muhammadu Buhari has said that oil prices in Nigeria cannot be cheaper than in Saudi Arabia.
The president said this in his speech at the Aso Villa, marking the country’s 60th Independence anniversary.
The federal government in March had increased the price of petrol from N148 to over N160.
This development came about as a dissatisfaction to Many Nigerians therefore prompting retaliation on context of a strike from the The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
But the president, while comparing the price of fuel in Nigeria to that of other countries, said it makes no sense for fuel to be cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia which sells at N168 per litre.
He said the hike in fuel price in the country (Nigeria) is justifiable compared to other oil producing Nations.
Buhari said: “Petroleum prices in Nigeria are to be adjusted. We sell now at N161 per litre. A comparison with our neighbours will illustrate the point:
“Chad which is an oil producing country charges N362 per litre, b. Niger, also an oil producing country sells 1 litre at N346. c. In Ghana, another oil producing country, petroleum pump price is N326 per litre.
“Further afield, Egypt charges N211 per litre. Saudi Arabia charges N168 per litre. It makes no sense for oil to be cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia.”
(C) Control TV 2020.