Nigerian Senate backs fuel price hike
After over one hour closed session, the Senate on Tuesday gave a tacit support to the controversial increase in the pump price of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) other known as petrol.
The Federal Government increased the pump price of petrol from N86.50 per litre to N145 per litre due to paucity of funds and the massive corruption in the fuel subsidy regime.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who read resolutions of the upper lawmakers, noted that “the Senate in a closed session deliberated on the increase in the pump price of PMS by the Federal Government.”
Ekweremadu also said they deliberated on the “threats by the organised Labour to embark on a nationwide strike over the matter.”
He said the Senate resolved to “sympathise with ordinary Nigerians on the hardships they are going through,” following the increase
He added that they resolved to “engage the federal government to find sustainable ways of improving the welfare of Nigerians.”
Ekweremadu said they further resolved to “call on government to continue to engage the organised labour and other stakeholders to resolve issues in order not to ground the system and impose more hardships on the people.”
The Senate, he said, urged the government to “immediately start implementing palliatives or palliative measures contained in the 2016 Appropriation Act passed by the National Assembly.”
A source said that there was a heated argument for and against the fuel price increase during the closed session.
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