VenturesNow

Nigeria’s NNPC insists no plans to raise petrol prices

Published

3 months ago

February 9, 2024

Nigeria’s state-owned oil firm, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), announced on Thursday that it had no intention of increasing petrol prices.

This comes amid speculation that it could increase prices to recover some of its import costs given the devaluation of the Naira and the cost of purchasing and importing refined petrol.

The NNPC, which is the sole importer of petrol because local private firms are unable to obtain sufficient foreign currency, urged Nigerians to disregard the speculation about price increases, adding that “there are no plans for an upward review of the (petrol) price.”

Since President Bola Tinubu ended the expensive fuel subsidy and loosened limits on currency trading in July of last year, which caused petrol prices to more than quadruple, Nigerians have been feeling the impact.

The measures exacerbated the cost of living crisis by driving inflation to a nearly three-decade high in December, contrary to the president’s hopes that this would jump-start the economy’s flagging growth.

Unions have put pressure on Tinubu to provide assistance to small firms and households after he removed the subsidy that kept petrol prices low but came at a $10 billion cost to the government in 2022.

The president has insisted he is aware of the difficulties brought about by the removal of the subsidy and was keeping an eye on how inflation and the exchange rate were affecting the price of petrol. He also promised to step in if and when needed.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s major unions expressed disappointment over the government’s inability to keep promises made to mitigate the effects of reforms and issued a two-week ultimatum to the government to comply with requests ranging from increased wages to better access to public utilities.

VenturesNow

Nigeria’s inflation hits 28-year high of 33.69% in April

Published

22 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s consumer inflation reached a 28-year high of 33.69% in April, up from 33.20% in March, according to statistics agency figures released on Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has slashed petrol and energy subsidies and devalued the local naira currency twice.

To manage pricing pressures, the central bank has hiked interest rates twice this year, including the highest hike in almost 17 years. The central bank governor has stated that rates will remain high for as long as necessary to reduce inflation. The bank will host another rate-setting meeting next week.

When compared to the previous year, the inflation rate in April 2024 was 11.47 percentage points more than in April 2023, when it stood at 22.22 percent. This implies that the headline inflation rate has increased dramatically during the last year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food and nonalcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to inflation in April. Food inflation, which accounts for most of the inflation basket, rose to 40.53% yearly from 40.01% in March.

Price pressures have left millions of Nigerians facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades, as they fight to satisfy their most basic necessities.

Tinubu has offered a 35% salary increase for state personnel to alleviate pressure on government workers. To assist disadvantaged households, his government has resumed a direct cash transfer program and provided at least 42,000 tons of grains such as corn and millet.

VenturesNow

Uganda discusses power line to South Sudan with China’s Sinohydro

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to the president’s office, Uganda is in negotiations with Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China to build a $180 million power transmission line that would enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, which is severely short on energy.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni received a group led by Vice President of Sinohydro Corporation Yang Yi Xin on Monday as part of the negotiations, according to a late-morning statement from Museveni’s office.

The project, according to the statement, will entail building a new substation and expanding two existing ones in addition to building a 138-kilometre high-voltage transmission line to provide power to South Sudan.

“We are very much willing to help develop this project with the required finance if needed,” Xin was quoted as telling the president.

The statement stated that Museveni endorsed Sinohydro’s proposal to carry out the project. Uganda and South Sudan inked a power sales deal in June of last year, enabling Uganda to sell electricity to South Sudan.

To enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, the two nations inked a power sales deal in June of last year. The Chinese firm is completing a $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt hydropower project on the River Nile in Northern Uganda that is meant to be the source for electricity exports to South Sudan.