Nigeria’s leading polling agency released a poll on June 16, 2016 showing that 74% of Nigerians say that they are not in support of the hike in fuel price. In March this year, the Federal Government announced a hike in fuel price from N87 per litre to N145 per litre, a 67% increase. But a strike called by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) to protest the decision failed to have any traction and the Union was forced to call off the strike.
However, the result of the NOI Poll shows that many Nigerians were not happy with the hike. Only 26% of Nigerians responding to the poll said that they support the hike. But 86% of the poll respondents agreed that fuel supply has improved since the new price regime came into effect. There was an acute scarcity of fuel prior to the increase in fuel price.
This may imply that though Nigerians are not happy with the increased price that they are paying, the improved supply may have compensated for their anger.
However, 88% of the poll respondents said that the fuel price has affected them in one way or the other. While 33% of Nigerians said it has led to increase in transportation cost, 24% said it has led to an increase in cost of goods and services and 17% said it has led to a change in their spending habits. Surprisingly, only 6% of Nigerians said the increase in fuel price has led to an increase in their fuel spend which may be explained by the fact that only a few Nigerians had previously benefited from the government subsidized fuel.
Fuel has traditionally been sold at a higher price in many states outside Lagos and Abuja. A survey by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released last week showed that average fuel price across the country dropped to N150 in May from N168 in April. States with the highest average fuels prices include; Ebonyi (N165), Yobe (N164) and Benue (N162), while Kaduna, Lagos and Zamfara had the lowest average fuel prices of N145 per litre. The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) also disclosed last week that demand for fuel has dropped by about 40% since the increase in price was announced.
