…says benchmarking fuel price at international market is absurdity
By Ime Silas
A former Governor of Cross River State and Presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP, for the 2027 elections, Mr. Donald Duke, has said the primary function of government is to ensure productivity of citizens within a safe and orderly environment, adding that fuel which drives the economy should be available and affordable.
Duke stated this on Wednesday while appearing on Channels Television programme, The Morning Brief.
“I’ve said severally that the function of government is to ensure the productivity of their citizens within a safe and orderly environment. Fuel drives your economy. It should be available. It should be affordable,” he said.
He blamed the hardship currently being faced in Nigeria on the high cost of petrol, noting that fuel drives Nigeria’s economy and the high price has had a multiplier effect on all sectors.
The PRP presidential candidate noted that prices of goods and services went astronomical immediately on May 29, 2023 when President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy.
He also chided a situation where the price of fuel remains high in Nigeria even when the country is one of the highest producers of crude oil in the world.
He further blamed the current economic hardship in the country on lack of availability of affordable capital for business owners, saying businesses cannot grow without access to cheap credit.
“How can you grow your economy if you don’t have access to capital, or affordable capital? And if the issue is inflation, the most inflationary item is the price of fuel because it drives everything. The price of transportation and all of that. Recall that on the 29th of May, 2023 when President Tinubu announced the so-called removal of fuel subsidy, everything went up. That’s inflation,” Duke stressed.
“But the truth is, it is because of your benchmarking of the price of the local consumption of fuel which is locally produced at the international price, which is absurdity. Right? It’s like you producing yam, or you have a yam farm or maize farm and you sell it to your family, right; at a price that is being sold at say Saudi Arabia, or in the United States and say it’s international price. It’s your product…” he added.
According to him, it is absurd for a crude oil producing country like Nigeria to benchmark the price of fuel consumed locally at international price, comparing it to a farmer who sells yam produced from his own farm to his family at the price it is sold in Saudi Arabia or the United States.
Duke argued that the policy has fueled inflation, worsened the cost of living and crippled small businesses that depend on affordable energy to operate.
He called on the Federal Government to rethink its energy pricing policy and prioritize making fuel available and affordable for Nigerians, stressing that no economy can grow when its most critical driver is priced beyond the reach of citizens and businesses.
The former governor said if elected president in 2027, his administration would ensure that Nigeria’s natural resources work for Nigerians first before being priced for international market considerations.
