The landing cost of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, is N35 higher than the pump price of N145 per litre, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, said on Tuesday.
Kachikwu said the rise in global crude oil prices after the 2016 hike in petrol price brought back subsidy.
Recalling the experience of 2016, when the government increased petrol price from N86.5 to N145 after months of severe scarcity, he described fuel subsidy as an emotive issue.
“You have very positive argument that says, ‘Why is this happening; let’s get it out.’ Once you do it, the streets get flooded by protesters.
You have five or six or 10 days of no activity in the country. So, any attempt to remove the subsidy must be very well-managed,” the minister said on the NTA Good Morning Nigeria programme.
