Reduction With Knocks
Nigerians welcome the N10 reduction of price of petrol with both joy and ill feelings across the country
By Oscar Onojighofia
On Sunday January 18, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, minister of petroleum announced a N10 reduction in the price of petrol following the fall of the price of crude oil in the international market, from $100 to $44 as at the time of this report. Though Alison-Madueke did not say how government arrived at the N10 reduction from N97 to N87, but in a chat with a national television station, she explained that other factors were considered before arriving at the price mark. One of such was price stability. By that she meant that the government was comfortable with the N10 reduction and may not adjust the pump price again for a long time no matter whether there is further increase or decrease in price of oil at the international market taking landing cost and other factors into consideration.
Though transportation companies are saving money in fuelling their vehicles but as the time of going to press transport cost for inter and intra-city service providers have not changed. When the magazine asked some transporters in Lagos why fares have not been cut, they insisted that the reduction is not enough to justify reduction in transport fares. Another transporter in Abuja asked the reporter rhetorically,