Fuel price, subsidy and Buhari govt

In February 2022, Nigerian government said it found an unsafe quantity of methanol in petrol imported into the country, and has cited that as reason for the then round of fuel shortage that has led to long queues in some major cities.
Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, said methanol, a substance that is usually present in petrol, found in the product exceeded Nigeria’s specification. This had led to the affected fuel being kept off the supply chain in February 2022.

The latest crisis of fuel scarcity and increment in price started in 2021 after the government announced its plan to remove fuel subsidy. Marketers, who the regulators accuse of hoarding the product, and refused to resume normal operations even after the suspension of the subsidy removal plan.

Yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari explained why his administration decided to keep paying fuel subsidies. He stated that the effects of removing fuel subsidies would have been too harsh on Nigerians.

The President also said they were working on boosting local capacity in order to stem the inflationary pressures, claiming that most western countries are implementing fuel subsidies

Buhari also explained that the exchange rate is very much “susceptible to external shocks that can suddenly and severely affect Nigerians

There is currently fuel scarcity in Lagos, Abuja and other parts of the country.