08 September 2016, Abuja -The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry has cautioned against fuel price hike, adding that any attempt to raise the price of petrol from the current price will further worsen the current economic situation.
The President of ACCI, Mr. Tony Ejinkeonye, stated this in a statement while reacting to the call by oil marketers for an increase in the price of fuel from the current N145 to a litre to N165.
Some marketers had said Nigerians should prepare for another increase in petrol prices due to the continued scarcity of foreign exchange to finance the importation of the product.
He said rather than increasing the fuel price, the government should as a matter of urgency build modular refineries to reduce the importation of refined petroleum products.
While admitting the fact that it is impossible not to have an increase in the price of petrol owing to the rise in foreign exchange prices, he called on the government to come up with a lasting solution to the crisis.
Ejinkeonye said, “ACCI believes that it’s impossible not to have a price increase with the forex situation as it is, unless we are going back to subsidy of products.
“The Federal Government needs to let Nigerians know where it is heading to on the issue of fuel; government should face reality and not flip flop on decisions”.
“Government should also as a matter of urgency build modular refineries as we have urged for years instead of building more petrol stations.”.
- Punch