In a statement, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said the
government is backed by Section 4 of the Price Control Act and section 316 of
the Petroleum Industry Act to “determine and fix the prices of petroleum
products Including petrol motor spirit, kerosene and cooking gas.”
He countered a claim made by the Minister of State Petroleum
Resources, Timipre Sylva, that the government could not intervene in the rising
price of kerosene.
In Africa’s most populous nation, kerosene is a major cooking
energy for Nigeria’s low-income earners and rural dwellers. The product is more
expensive than even petrol, diesel and gas.
Diesel is sold at N808 per litre in Lagos, gas sells at N202
per litre. Petrol is sold at N169 but kerosene is sold at over N900 per litre
in the nation’s commercial capital.
Last Monday, the minister said President Muhammadu Buhari’s
administration has no powers to intervene in the rising price of household
kerosene.
At a media briefing in Abuja to unfold the achievements of
the Buhari administration in the petroleum industry since the assumption of
office in 2015, Sylva pointed out that the price of kerosene had already been
deregulated and could no longer be controlled by the government.
“Kerosene, which is the fuel for the average household, is
already a deregulated product. It is not necessarily within the purview of the
government but a now a commercial decision. Companies will import and sell
kerosene at a commercial rate. It is a deregulated product,” the minister said.
But Falana accused the Buhari government of illegally
pushing out the deregulation of kerosene on Nigerians.
“With respect, the purported deregulation of the product was
illegally pushed out by the Buhari administration,” he stated.
“It is common knowledge that the Federal Government, through
the NNPC is the sole importer of fuel into the country, claiming to be
subsidising the product. So how can the Federal Government turn around to allow
private companies or the so-called market forces to fix the price of the same
product?
“In July 2020, Chief Sylva said that an alternative source
of fuel, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) would cost between N95 to N97 per litre,
to make fuel more affordable in the country.
About a year later, it was disclosed by the Minister that as
part of efforts to ensure that the autogas conversion of vehicles yielded the
desired results, the Federal Government had set aside N250 billion for willing
investors in autogas assembly plants in the country. The Federal Government
should tell Nigerians why the migration from PMS to CNG has been abandoned.”
The senior lawyer urged President Buhari as the Minister of
Petroleum Resources, “to call Chief Sylva to order for treating the valid and
subsisting judgments of the Federal High Court and the Supreme Court with
contempt.”
“Otherwise, we shall not hesitate to commence contempt
proceedings against the public officers in charge of the petroleum industry.”