Nigerians have said the current fuel price increase is a ploy by the Buhari administration to impose the botched petrol subsidy removal on them. In response to the failure to remove subsidies from petrol, they claim the government has created artificial scarcity to inflate prices.

Energy policy analyst, Godwin Wuche said Nigerians are paying the price for standing against the government in its plans to remove subsidies and further impoverish the masses.

Wuche noted:

“I knew Nigerians would pay in some way for speaking against the removal of fuel subsidy. The current situation calls for an extensive probe to find out why the government is hiding under the guise of bad product to punish Nigerians for rejecting a bad policy.”

 Wuche said the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari did not speak, act or take punitive action against those who presided over the purported importation of adulterated fuel means that it is what they wanted all along, he said in an interview with Legit.ng. He said:

 “How can you preside over a rot, an obvious slap on the faces of Nigerians? People who know what happened and how a product made its way from abroad into the country should be held accountable. Some people should either be in suspension or sacked as investigations continue.”

Read also:  NNPC Apologizes For Fuel Scarcity

An economic analyst, Osaze Omarogbon thinks that the situation is the handiwork of economic saboteurs who want to tarnish the image and work of the Buhari government. Omarogbo said: “In my own opinion, I do not think it is a ploy to increase fuel prices. Just like they said that they had some adulterated fuel that was brought into the country. I believe that one because right now I am in Benin City, I bought fuel this morning at N153. I am sure it is just that they want to increase fuel.”

Omarogbon said it is the normal supply constraint and the normal Nigerian way of taking advantage of every situation. He said: “In any government policy, you have to measure the pulse of the country, especially the one that has to do directly with the people. You know the rising inflation in the country right now. I think it (subsidy removal) was a bad policy move at a time like this”

Omarogbon said subsidy removal in itself is not a terrible policy but that timing is very critical. He said had the subsidy been removed, inflation would have hit 30 to 40 per cent. The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation announced on Wednesday, February 16, 2022, that it has imported about one billion litres of fuel into the country and over two billion more is being expected by month-end.