Efforts by the ad-hoc Committee to resolve the crisis of an impending mass strike-call by Nigerian labour Congress against high fuel prices ended without any consensus. With the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) refused to agree to revert back to old fuel prices the meeting broke off. The group Managing Director of the NNPC,Funsho Kupolokun said that if NNPC has to bear the burden of fuel subsidy, in the event of reverting fuel prices back to old prices, his corporation would not be able to pay next month's salaries to its staff and also would fail to meet other financial obligations. Meanwhile the agitation seems to be gaining ground. Protest march staged yesterday by a coalition of human rights groups, student organisations and market unions in Warri shut down banks, markets and street-side shops in the city. The protestors demanded lowering of fuel prices and resignation of President Olusegun Obasanjo. The Nigerian Senate also passed a resolution unanimously asking for a roll back in fuel prices. The Senate suggested working out a formula to determine fuel prices and suggested that the oil reserve account be used for subsidising domestic fuel prices. The ad-hoc Committee has proposed to meet with Obasanjo, the leadership of the House, and leadership of political parties to find a consensus formula to avert the strike. Nigerias aggregate fuel demand is estimated at 30mn litres a day and with its refining capacity at 18mn litres per day, has to rely on petroleum product imports. Nigeria at the same time exports crude oil. The federal government has accumulated an estimated oil reserve of NGN 340bn (USD 2.5bn), through crude oil sales at a price above the USD 25 per barrel price; set in the budget.
Nigerias fuel price crisis gets severe