The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) on Friday asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to revert to the old pump price of petrol.

The committee chairman, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, made the call in a statement in Abuja.

He described the hike in petrol price as unacceptable.

The lawmaker stressed that a situation where private companies took advantage of gaps in the system to make arbitrary profits at the expense of Nigerians was inimical to the country’s progress.

NNPCL had on Tuesday directed its retail outlets to increase their pump prices from N617 to N897, a development which has almost immediately spiked prices, including market commodities and transportation.

Doguwa said: “We urge the Federal Government and, of course, the NNPCL to consider the plight of Nigerians and suspend this recent increase in pump price.

“Nigerians are currently going through a lot of challenges, and adding to the burden is not in our collective best interest.

“Let us revert to the old pump price as soon as possible and probably intensify engagements with major stakeholders to address the problem.”

The lawmaker, who is also the Chairman, Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft and Vandalisation of Pipelines, also pledged to tackle the challenge caused by the loss of revenue to the government through the theft of crude oil.

“As a special committee, we will aggressively seek modalities to interface with the youths and community leaders in the oil-producing areas.

“We are working in collaboration with security agencies in their quest to secure oil pipelines and other critical facilities in the country.

“We believe that a return to the old pump price will calm frayed nerves, thus enabling Nigerians to go about their daily activities with ease,” he noted.

He also advised Nigerians to give President Bola Tinubu’s administration a chance to reposition the country’s oil and gas sector.

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