The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday rejected Federal Government’s pinch in ex-depot price of fuel to N108 litre, insisting on a new pricing template that must accommodate a pump price of between N60 to N70 per liter to reflect the crash in the price of crude oil and petroleum products in the international market.

The party in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan,

described the N108 ex-depot price as fraudulent and a far cry from the appropriate pump price template that should not exceed N70 given the prevailing situation in the international oil market.

The statement reads: “The PDP notes that the N108 ex-depot price with a projected additional N9 per liter Expected Open Market price is therefore completely unacceptable to Nigerians.

“Moreover, the Federal Government has continued to shroud the indices and parameters it is using in determining domestic prices of petroleum products in secrecy. Such parameters obviously cannot be in tandem with the appropriate situation in the global industry.

“The PDP laments that the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government has continued to shortchange unsuspecting Nigerians since the beginning of the year by refusing to end its corrupt interferences and allow market forces to determine pump price of fuel to reflect current global prices.

“Our party insists that the Federal Government has no reason to continue to fleece Nigerians particularly in the face of worsening economic crisis occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic which it had also failed to effectively handle.

“The PDP demands that the APC Federal Government should immediately reduce both the ex-depot and pump price as well as surrender the billions of naira accruable as overcharge from the inappropriate fuel pricing since the crash in crude oil price and channel the funds as palliatives to Nigerians.

“The party charges the NNPC not to waste further time in addressing Nigerians on its confession of sleazy and over-bloated oil subsidy regime in the last five years which included a hazy under-recovery for unnamed West African countries, running into trillions of naira.

“Indeed, Nigerians must not continue to be fleeced with high fuel prices while stolen subsidy and accruable overcharges are looted by a few individuals operating as a cabal in the APC-led administration.”