Petrol Price: Presidency Explains Why Buhari Compared Nigeria To Saudi Arabia

The Presidency has finally reacted to the statement of President Muhammadu Buhari comparing the fuel price in Saudi Arabia to that of Nigeria in his Independence Day message.

The presidency in a statement released on Friday noted that it is unwise and unfair for the Buhari government to reduce the price of petrol for people who live in the city while farmers and herders who have no cars nor generators are left with nothing.

Recall that the President on October 1st noted that petrol will be sold for N161 per litre in Nigeria, he added that other nations such as Ghana, Niger, Chad Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing countries sell petrol on a higher price than Nigeria.

The President’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, when asked why his principal made the comparison during his appearance on Channels TV said, “We belong to a global market system. We are buying mostly our refined products from the international market.”

“Is it fair that the taxpayers’ money…how many Nigerians have cars anyway? How many of them run generators in their homes that they need this fuel for?”

“Is it fair that the farmer, herders and low-level people in the society that the taxpayer money is taken from them are subsidising the lifestyle of our city urban dwellers? So these are.. the President is just trying to be as practical on these matters as possible.”

“So Saudi Arabia is important in this discussion because, what is the technological cost of producing a barrel of oil in Saudi Arabia?”

“It’s not more than a quarter of what we spend here and yet you see them charging more than Nigeria. How much comes to Nigeria when you look at our technical cost? …”