The Interview Editors
Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, on Thursday commended the Federal Government’s decision to increase the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), better known as petrol, to N162.
He claimed that the government’s action would attract huge investments to the petroleum industry.
The governor insisted that petroleum products must attract appropriate pricing.
READ ALSO: Petrol Now Sells At N162
The governor voiced his support at a time Nigerians roundly condemned the new petrol litre price.
Abiodun, who spoke with State House Correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, also gave his nod to the hike in electricity tariff with effect from September 1.
“First, you want to enjoy lower prices when the prices of crude are low and then not want to pay for a slight increase when there is an increase in price of crude.
“The price of crude is directly proportional to the price of refined products. So, I believe that is what is happening at the moment”, the governor stated.
Abiodun made a similar submission on power tariff hike, hinging his position on appropriate pricing.
READ ALSO: New Electricity Tariffs Takes Effect Today
He added, “In terms of the tariff increase in the electricity industry, again, we also have to decide what we want to do.
“We all complain that we are not generating enough electricity and we all complain about the fact that we don’t have the right infrastructure to transmit electricity, we complain about the fact that the distribution companies do not seem to be efficient. The problem is because, perhaps, the pricing is not right.
READ ALSO: Electricity Tariff Hike: Lawan, Gbajabiamila Meet Buhari, Osinbajo, Say Timing Is Wrong
“If you want people to invest in production of gas, in gas floatation, which our turbines and our power plants rely on, we must ensure that the entire value chain is profitable. Because if one part of it is not profitable, that means there will be a shortfall in one of the value chains, if we don’t have enough investment.
“So, if you don’t have enough investment in gas gathering, if we don’t have enough investment in gas transportation, we will not have enough gas supply to sustain the quantum of generation we require as a government or as a nation. And when we don’t have that, we don’t have enough that will be transmitted to our homes and the transmission grid, and then, we continue to complain. So, really the truth is that it’s a cache 22 situation.”
