Residents of Calabar, Cross River State, have expressed concern over the sudden increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, to between N1,450 and N1,500 per litre.
The residents spoke during a survey by the News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday on the prevailing price of petrol in the city.
Reports from some filling stations across the Calabar metropolis showed that the price of petrol had been adjusted to between N1,450 and N1,500 per liter.
Mary Ubong, an official of a major petrol outlet in the city, said the latest increase was not caused by retailers.
According to her, the wholesale price of petrol had increased by about N85 per litre, forcing retailers to adjust their pump prices accordingly.
“So what you see is a reflection of the increase by wholesalers, it wasn’t caused by retailers,” she said.
Ubong said petrol was already expensive at its previous price of about N1,300 per litre, adding that the latest increase would further worsen the hardship faced by residents.
Another petrol station official, Timothy Adama, said he was unable to understand the constant increase in the price of petrol.
Adama argued that Nigeria, being blessed with huge crude oil deposits, should have petrol prices that were affordable to ordinary citizens.
“The authorities should manage the country’s resources effectively to improve the living conditions of the citizenry.
“This crude oil belongs to us. I don’t understand why it is this expensive, and putting Nigerians in this kind of pain,” he said.
Also speaking, a businesswoman, Rita Johnson, said the rising cost of petrol had increased the cost of processing her products.
Johnson said a bowl of tigernut, which previously cost between N600 and N700 to process, now cost N1,500 following the increase in petrol prices.
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“With the current reality, it now costs more to produce my drinks for sale. We cannot continue this way,” she said.
The latest pump price increase was reportedly triggered by an adjustment in the wholesale price of petrol by Dangote Refinery on September 12.
Reports indicated that the price was increased from about N1,265 to N1,350 per liter, representing an increase of about 6.7 percent.
NAN reports that the development has also triggered an increase in transportation fares, food prices and the cost of other essential commodities.
