The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project is suing President Bola Tinubu to lower the price of gasoline from N845 to N600 per litre.
The organisation is suing the president for “the failure to direct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to reverse the apparently unlawful increase in the pump price of petrol” in a suit filed last Friday in the Federal High Court of Abuja under the file number FHC/ABJ/CS/1361/2024, which was represented by Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, lawyer for SERAP.
The complaint also tackles the national oil firm’s alleged “failure” to look into claims of mismanagement and corruption.
The NNPCL, Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, are listed as respondents in the document, which was made available to PUNCH Online on Sunday.
In addition to urging President Tinubu to “direct” the AGF and pertinent anti-corruption agencies to look into the claims of corruption and mismanagement within the NNPC, SERAP is asking the court to “compel President Tinubu to direct the NNPCL to reverse the unjust, illegal, unconstitutional, and unreasonable increase in the price of petrol from N845 per litre to N600 per litre.”
The group notes that the rise in petrol prices is causing “immense hardship” for Nigerians and calls for the prosecution of “anyone suspected to be responsible for the alleged corruption and mismanagement in the NNPCL, provided there is sufficient admissible evidence, and to recover any proceeds of corruption.”
Oil traders have persisted in protesting over the NNPCL’s tight control over the market and asking for direct access to petrol coming from the Dangote refinery.
The Federal Government said in Abuja on Friday that the NNPCL will be the only purchaser of fuel from the refinery. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, made this announcement.
This came after the national oil company declared that the refinery was allowed to sell its petrol to any marketer and that it was not the only company that off-taked products from the Dangote plant.
However, SERAP’s statement noted that “the increase in petrol prices constitutes a fundamental breach of constitutional guarantees and the country’s international human rights obligations.
“Corruption in the oil sector and the lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds to support NNPC operations have led to persistent and unlawful hikes in petrol prices.
“Increasing petrol prices at a time when millions of Nigerians face worsening economic conditions is entirely inconsistent with constitutional and international obligations to ensure minimum living conditions compatible with human dignity.”
SERAP took note that the NNPCL “recently increased the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, across its retail outlets. The price rose to N855 per litre, from about N600, with some instances exceeding N900 per litre.
“The apparent unlawful increase in petrol prices followed a scarcity caused by suppliers’ reported refusal to import petroleum products for the NNPCL over a $6 billion debt.
“The NNPC allegedly failed to remit USD 2.04 billion and N164 billion of oil revenues into the public treasury, as documented in the recently published 2020 annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation.”
Concurrently, the NNPC declared on Saturday that 300 trucks had been dispatched to remove petrol from the Dangote refinery.
Olufemi Soneye, the corporation’s spokeswoman, told a news correspondent that the trucks were being sent to the refinery in accordance with a mutual agreement to remove petrol from the $20 billion plant located in Lekki.
Soneye stated, “NNPC Ltd trucks are arriving at the Dangote refinery in preparation for the scheduled petrol loading on Sunday, September 15, 2024,” in a post on his official X handle that included pictures of trucks lining up at the facility. At least 300 trucks will be positioned at the refinery’s fuel loading gantry by this Saturday’s end.
Soneye responded to this by saying, “Yes, trucks have been mobilised there, nothing has been picked up by anyone yet. NNPC was given September 15 as the date; in order to go forward if the gates open for loading, it is lining up trucks.”
Oil merchants pointed out that the Dangote petrol price was still unknown and said that, for the time being, independent marketers would only purchase the product from the NNPCL.
