Nigeria’s President Muhammad Buhari on Thursday has defended the recent hike in the prices of petrol in the country, hinging the increment on the need to shore up the “drastically reduced resources”.
Petrol currently sells for between N157 and N161 in Nigeria. Buhari said these prices are still cheaper compared to the prices of the same product in other oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia.
The president gave current oil price in Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest oil producers in the world, as N168 per litre.
Buhari also said a comparison of the fuel prices in Nigeria with other African countries will further justify the increment.
He said Chad, which is an oil-producing country, charges N362 per litre, while Niger, also an oil-producing country sells 1 litre at N346.
Buhari also compared the prices with those of Ghana and Egypt, where petrol is sold at N326 and N211 per litre respectively.
The Labour unions in Nigeria had earlier planned a nationwide protest and strike over the recent increase in electricity tariff and petrol price in the country.
The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) suspended the strike after a late-night meeting with a federal government team at the presidential villa in Abuja.
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