Group opens up on N600 per liter price of fuel as Dangote announces new petrol price

• SERAP has filed a lawsuit against President Bola Tinubu, requesting a reduction in petrol rates from N845 per litre to N600 per litre
• The group is suing the president for not giving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited the order to halt the gasoline price increase
• Additionally, the national oil company's claimed failure to investigate allegations of corruption and mismanagement is addressed in the complaint

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued President Bola Tinubu, demanding a decrease in petrol prices from N845 to N600 per litre.

The organisation is suing the president for failing to order the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to stop the increase in the price of petrol. Photo Credit: Dangote Group
Source: UGC

The organisation is suing the president for failing to order the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to stop the increase in the price of petrol at the pump in a suit filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja under the file number FHC/ABJ/CS/1361/2024.

The suit filed by Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, the lawyer for SERAP tackles the national oil firm's alleged failure to look into claims of mismanagement and corruption.

The NNPCL, Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, are listed as respondents in the document, which was made available to PUNCH.

SERAP makes demand

SERAP is asking the court “to compel President Tinubu to direct the NNPCL to reverse the unjust, illegal, unconstitutional, and unreasonable increase in the price of petrol from N845 per litre to N600 per litre,”

Additionally, it is pleading with the president to order the AGF and other anti-corruption organisations to look into the claims of wrongdoing and corruption inside the NNPC.

The organisation notes that the rise in petrol prices is causing great hardship for Nigerians and calls for the prosecution of anyone suspected of being accountable for the alleged corruption and mismanagement in the NNPCL, provided there is sufficient admissible evidence. It also calls for the recovery of any proceeds of corruption.

Human right fundamentally violated

SERAP stated in its statement that the country's international human rights obligations and constitutional safeguards are fundamentally violated by the rise in gas prices.

It further stated that illegal and recurrent increases in gasoline prices are the result of corruption in the oil industry and a lack of accountability and transparency in the use of public funds to support NNPC operations.

It added

“Increasing petrol prices at a time when millions of Nigerians face worsening economic conditions is entirely inconsistent with constitutional and international obligations to ensure minimum living conditions compatible with human dignity.”

The development occured after SERAP learned that the NNPCL has raised the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) at all of its retail locations. From roughly N600 per litre, the price increased to N855 per litre, sometimes even surpassing N900.

It added

“The apparent unlawful increase in petrol prices followed a scarcity caused by suppliers’ reported refusal to import petroleum products for the NNPCL over a $6 billion debt.“The NNPC allegedly failed to remit USD 2.04 billion and N164 billion of oil revenues into the public treasury, as documented in the recently published 2020 annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation,” among other issues.

Dangote petrol prices emerge

Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has started lifting Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, from Dangote Refinery today, Sunday, 15 September 2024.

On Saturday, the national oil company announced that at least 300 trucks are stationed at the Lekki, Lagos refinery.

The news has been greeted with excitement by Nigerians who hope that development will mean cheaper petrol prices at filling stations. This seems to have been granted.

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Source: Legit.ng