The Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, has urged the authority to promptly revert the upward revision of the pump price of Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, commonly known as petrol.
9JA NEWS reports that oil marketers declared on Tuesday a fresh pump price for fuel across the nation.
Several fuel stations in the nation’s capital are currently dispensing the product for as high as N620 as opposed to the earlier N537 recently announced by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL.
The situation is presently causing reactions as stakeholders lament the level of hardship being imposed on citizens.
In response, NUJ, in a statement issued by its National Secretary, Shuainu Usman Leman, expressed sorrow that numerous Nigerians can no longer afford transportation fares to their workplaces and business venues due to the fuel hike.
The statement states, “The Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, is alarmed by the just announced increase in the pump price of the Petroleum Motor Spirit, PMS, to N617 per liter in Abuja and N568 in Lagos, respectively.
“This development has already triggered a significant rise in transportation expenses, with prices of food items escalating to almost beyond the reach of many citizens, even as users of generators to power their homes are already enduring the present condition with great difficulty.
“While we commend the decision to eliminate the expensive subsidy on fuel, we, however, caution against a premature implementation of the policy without putting in place mitigating measures to alleviate the unbearable impact.
“We are disheartened by the fact that nowadays, most people can hardly travel to work or other business locations without excessive stress.
“We believe that this decision is excessive and urge for an immediate reversal of the situation while considering and implementing adequate measures to lessen the impact on ordinary Nigerians”.
