The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to dismiss a suggestion from the World Bank to price petrol at N750 per litre. This suggested price represents a significant rise from the current rate, which ranges between N620 and N650 per litre in most parts of the country.
The World Bank made the proposal on Wednesday, pushing the Federal Government to cease the subsidy payment on petrol and raise the cost of the product to N750 per litre. The bank’s lead economist in Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, made the allegation during his presentation of the Nigeria Development Update, December 2023 Edition.
Sienaert argued that petrol prices are not fully adjusting to market conditions, hinting at the partial return of the fuel subsidy. He said, “If we estimate what is the cost reflective of the retail PMS price of the would-be and assume that importation is done at the official FX rate […] the price would be even higher.”
He further explained that the liberalisation is happening with the parallel rates, which is the main supplier. “These are just estimates to give you a sense of what cost-reflective pricing most likely looks like,” he added.
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“We think the price of petrol should be around N750 per litre more than the N650 per litre currently paid by Nigerians,” Sienaert added.
In response to the World Bank’s statement, the labour union warned on Thursday that a further hike in the price of fuel would be an automatic invitation to anarchy.
NLC’s Head of Information, Benson Upah, described the World Bank as a predatory institution with a globalist north mentality and a disregard for the global south. According to Upah, the initial increase in the price of petrol has caused enough problems for Nigerians.
“[The World Bank] is almost single-handedly responsible for the ruination of the economies of countries of the global south for which it prescribes one solution for all ailments,” he said.
Upah went on to claim that the bank is unconcerned about Nigeria or Nigerians and that it can say whatever it wants from its perch in Washington.
“The World Bank is so hypocritical it fails to see the nexus between price and capacity,” Upah added. “The minimum wage in Nigeria for a privileged few is N30,000. The same minimum wage in the United States where the law is enforced is N1.5m.
“In light of this, if the government knows what is good for it, it should ignore the World Bank but must remain committed to fighting inherent corruption in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry. It must also cut down the high cost of governance.”
