The national president of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Okworonkwo, has announced there will be a reduction in petroleum pump price from next week.
Okworonkwo stated that the petroleum marketers have agreed to reduce the cost of petroleum within the country to N140 from N145 per litre, a move the body hopes will diffuse the political tension within the country.
He made this know through a statement released on Sunday, which noted filling station across Nigeria will cut N5 from the current petroleum pump price between February 20 and February 25, 2019.
The motive behind the reduction
According to the statement by IPMAN, which was signed by the chairman of the association’s Kano chapter, Bashir Dan-Malam, the body approved the new price in a bid to motivate Nigerians to vote in the coming election.
Recall that the General election in Nigeria which was scheduled for February 16, 2019, was postponed on election day by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to February 23, 2019.
INEC had claimed damage to electoral documents by fire, late circulation of electoral materials to some States, among many other reasons. The postponement drew reactions from the two leading presidential candidates, President Muhammadu Buhari and former vice president, Atiku Abubakar.
President Buhari who is contesting on the platform of All Progressive Congress (APC), appealed for calm following INEC’s rescheduling of the Presidential and National Assembly elections.
While Atiku who is vying on the platform of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) stated that the postponement is obviously a case of the hand of Esau but the voice of Jacob, accusing the Buhari administration of planning to disenfranchise the Nigerian electorate.
Now, IPMAN says the body hope the reduction in petrol price will calm the political tension and situation within the country.
“IPMAN was prompted to slash N5 from the N145 per litre official Petroleum pump price in a bid to motivate Nigerians to return to vote again on February 23,” the statement read.
“We urge all our members across Nigeria to immediately reduce the fuel pump price from N145 per litre to N140 per litre.
“This is because of the political situation that hit the country after INEC suddenly announced the postponement of presidential and National Assembly elections after Nigerians were fully prepared.
“We are all aware how Nigerians travelled to different parts of the country in order to exercise their civic duty; unfortunately, they heard a sad news of postponement of the polls.
“This made us deem it fit to reduce the pump price in order to ease their suffering, and to also motivate them to travel again to exercise their franchise on February 23.”
