The House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected an amendment to a motion seeking to suspend the recent increase in the pump price of petrol.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the amendment was proposed by Hon. Ugochinyere Ikenga, who called for an investigation into the increases in the price of petrol since the removal of petrol subsidy.
However, 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.
The House instead resolved to carry out an investigation to ascertain the veracity of the increases.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) increased the pump price of petrol, known as Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), from N537 to N617 per litre on Tuesday.
This is the second in less than two months.
In May, a day after President Bola Tinubu was sworn into office, the NNPC increased the fuel price from N195 per litre to N537 per litre.
These increases follow the Tinubu-led federal government’s removal of fuel subsidy.
In the first half of 2023, Nigeria spent N3.6 trillion on fuel subsidy alone. According to the Federal Government, the country will save close to N6.7 trillion if fuel subsidies payment is discontinued.
Nigeria has spent N13.7 trillion on fuel subsidy in the last 13 years, according to Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
