It has been revealed that the Nigerian Senate Committee on Works has proposed levy N5 on a litre petrol imported or locally produced to fix roads in country.
The proposal yet to be debated in the upper chamber, would also have to be approved in the House of Representatives. The issue of fuel price increase is a very sensitive in Nigeria as any fuel price increase impact negatively on the price of other commodities whose increase often strip the fuel increase in about 3 folds.
The impact of last year’s fuel price increase has impoverished the populace as the government continue to struggle to fix the economy. With annual inflation at 17,24% as at April and the country still under recession, if this proposed is passed and assented to by the president, Nigerians will sink deeper into economic abyss.
On the flip side, our roads are crying for urgent repairs and with the government focusing on borrowing to fund the 2017 budget, perhaps additional hardship on the populace through this levy is a way out.
