Any change in the pump price of the Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) better known as petrol will alter the returning economic indices and relative price stability, renewing a slide in purchasing power of the citizens, experts have warned.
Last Wednesday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the inflation rate measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped to 15.13 per cent in January, from the 15.37 per cent recorded in December 2017.
The NBS made the disclosure in its CPI Report for January 2018. The CPI, which measures inflation, started the year 2018 increasing by 15.13 per cent (year-on-year) in January 2018.
The following day, the National Economic Council (NEC), made up of state governors and chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, demanded for “correct” pricing of petrol in the country.
A litre of petrol in the country sells for N145 officially even though the Ministry of Petroleum Resources recently revealed that its landing cost is N177. The product sells for $1.07 (about N385) in neighbouring Chad and Cameroon, and goes for $1.00 (N360) in Benin Republic, the ministry alleged.
The Guardian, 2018
COMMENTS