Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is not legally empowered to fix or adjust the price of petrol.

Falana said the power to fix the price of petrol lies with President Bola Tinubu since there is no substantive minister of petroleum resources.

On May 31, NNPCL said it has adjusted the price of petrol across its retail outlets.

Garba Deen Muhammad, the spokesperson of the corporation, cited “market realities” as the reason for the adjustment of the price.

BODEX BLOG had earlier reported that filling stations across the country increased pump prices from N185 to over N500 shortly after President Tinubu declared in his inauguration speech that “petrol subsidy is gone”.

Reacting to the development in an interview with Channels Television on Friday, Falana said it was against the law that NNPCL or the so-called “invisible market forces” were fixing the price of petrol.

“The NNPC has metamorphosed into a limited liability company. It is now NNPC Limited. To that extent, NNPCs like Total, Exxonmobil, and Shell operating in the oil industry cannot announce increases in the prices of petroleum products. That duty is vested in the government,” the senior advocate of Nigerian (SAN) said.

“Nobody has the right in Nigeria to fix the prices of petroleum products other than the government. You have a price control act and at that time the petroleum act, now PIA.

“You ask the NNPC where have you got the power to fix the price of petrol from N185 to N540, how? The invisible market forces cannot under the Nigerian constitution and under the PIA fix the prices of petroleum products.

“Under the current situation in which we have found ourselves since ministers have not been appointed, the president is running the country. Only the president can sọ decide the price for now.

You have the price control act, the PIA. There is no provision in our law for market forces to determine to prices of any product in the country.”

Angola says it has decided to reduce its spending on petrol subsidy.

After the cabinet meeting on Thursday in Luanda, the country’s capital, Manuel Junior, minister of state for economic coordination, said the subsidy reduction will take effect from Friday.

He said this would lead to an increase in the price of petrol from the current 160 kwanzas (about $0.27) per litre, to 300 kwanzas (about $0.51) per litre.

The change in price represents an 87.5 percent rise, starting from 1.00 am, on Friday.

Subsidies on other petroleum products, such as diesel, cooking oil, and gasoil (a type of diesel), will remain unchanged, he said.

The minister said the removal of petrol subsidy is “a necessary measure to promote solid economic growth capable of addressing the serious problems facing the country”.

Junior said Angola’s expenditures on fuel subsidies amounted to $3.8 billion in 2022.

On her part, Vera Daves, minister of finance of Angola, said removing the petrol subsidy was a sovereign decision of the Angolan state and was not influenced by external pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to a government report obtained by Xinhua, Angola’s ministry of finance had put forth a proposal for a phased reduction of petrol subsidy beginning in the second quarter of 2023.

The report also recommended a gradual and progressive removal of the subsidy on diesel and illuminating oil prices, with the process projected to last until 2025.

Angola has the fourth-lowest petrol prices in the world ($0.28) after Libya, Iran, and Venezuela, according to data compiled by Globalpetrolprices.com.

According to a report released on May 11 by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Angola is Africa’s top crude oil producer, with production averaging 1.06 million barrels per day in April.

The country’s petrol subsidy cutback comes at a time when Nigeria, Africa’s major oil-producing country, is experiencing post-subsidy realities.

Freight forwarders under the aegis of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) have threatened to embark on industrial action on Monday, June 5, 2023, over the poor welfare of shipping companies in the sector.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Adewale Adeyanju, president of MWUN, said the warning strike is due to the failure of the management of shipping companies to discuss and negotiate the welfare and condition of service of its members, despite several interventions.

While stakeholders have condemned the planned strike due to its potential impact on businesses, Adeyanju said there was no going back as several meetings have been held prior, hence the issuance of a seven-day ultimatum to the shipping companies.

He said after the first ultimatum was issued, the shipping firms were still nonchalant about discussing an amicable resolution.

“MWUN wishes to bring to the attention of the general public its bewilderment at the nonchalant attitude of shipping companies’ management to discuss and negotiate the welfare and condition of service of our members in the shipping industry,” he said.

“This is in spite of several interventions and meetings which sought an amicable resolution of the unresolved welfare issues of our members in the shipping sector culminating in the issuance of a further seven-day ultimatum after the expiration of the previous 14-day ultimatum issued.

“Related to the above, the minister of transportation, in a bid to ensure a peaceful industrial climate in the shipping, sector had directed the management of Nigerian Shippers Council (NCS) to spearhead a collective bargaining meeting between MWUN and all shipping companies in Nigeria.

“Unfortunately, despite several meetings called at the instance of the shippers’ council in their premises, the shipping companies’ representatives deliberately forestalled the negotiations process citing a lack of mandate from their respective principals insisting on maintaining status-quo.

“Consequently to the foregoing and the obvious unwillingness of the shipping employers to negotiate minimum standard and condition of service for our members in the shipping sector, MWUN is left with no option than to resuscitate the earlier-seven day ultimatum issued the shipping employers in the sector; and therefore withdraw the services of our members inclusive of our members in the dock, seafarers and Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) from all ports, jetties, terminals, and oil and gas platforms nationwide with effects from Monday, June 5, 2023.”