The House of Representatives yesterday urged the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and other relevant agencies to accelerate the repair/maintenance of the nation’s moribund refineries and increase local refining capacity.

It said doing so would be a stop-gap measure to reduce the dependence on imported refined petroleum products.

The Green Chamber also asked the Federal Government to immediately order a reversal of the recent increase in the price of petrol, saying it was worsening hardship among Nigerians.

The House also asked the government to take immediate steps to stabilise petrol and cooking gas prices through targeted interventions, such as temporary price relief measures, tax reductions, or subsidies on LPG for low-income households.

Adopting a motion or urgent public importance sponsored by 101 members, the Green Chamber asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement monetary policies that would mitigate the adverse effects of fuel price hikes on inflation, particularly on essential goods and services.

The lawmakers also want the Federal Government to explore alternative energy sources and diversify the country’s energy mix to reduce reliance on petrol and gas and promote renewable energy solutions that are more sustainable and affordable in the long term.

They said state governments needed to adopt policies that would alleviate the financial burden on the residents of their domains, such as waiving taxes or levies on transportation and goods affected by high fuel costs.
Moving the motion on behalf of other members, Deputy Minority Leader Aliyu Sani Madaki (NNPP, Kano) said Nigeria, as an oil-producing nation, historically relied on petroleum products and cooking gas (LPG) as essential sources of energy for domestic and industrial purposes.

The lawmaker expressed concern that in recent months, the prices of petrol and cooking gas had skyrocketed and continue to so do, creating an unsustainable financial burden on ordinary Nigerians and exacerbating the cost of living.

He noted that the removal of fuel subsidies, coupled with global oil price volatility and the depreciation of the naira had contributed significantly to the rising cost of petrol at the pump and cooking gas for households.

Other contributors to the debate included Minority Whip Ali Isa (PDP, Gombe), Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, and George Ibezimakor.

Minority Leader and one of the sponsors of the motion, Kingsley Chinda (PDP), faulted the current implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), saying: “Law is made for man and not man for the law. When a law is passed, you also look at the intention of the law. The PIA provides for deregulation. What is the intention of the law? Is that what Nigerians are going through right now? The answer is no.
“We yearn for deregulation, but how do we implement it so that it does not affect the people negatively? We must consider Nigerians in the process of implementation of such laws.”