A lawmaker, Alhassan Doguwa, has urged the Federal Government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to take urgent steps to revert to the old pump price of the Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol.

The member representing Tudun Wada/Doguwa Federal Constituency, Kano State, in the House of Representatives, disclosed this in a Thursday statement.

Petrol cost was on a steady rise throughout the immediate past administration; a development that has shown no sign of abating since the removal of the subsidy.

Earlier in the week, fuel scarcity took a turn for the worse as long queues hit major cities even as black marketers took advantage of the opportunity to sell the product at N1,500 per litre. In Abuja, the nation’s capital and Lagos, the product sells for N880 at the NNPCL mega filling stations, while independent marketers sell between N950 and N970 per litre.

Consequently, Nigerians have been expressing their displeasure, wondering how a government that recently announced a new minimum wage expects them to cope with the rising cost of living, particularly the challenge of transportation.

Doguwa, who chairs the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), described as unacceptable a situation where private companies take advantage of gaps in the system to make arbitrary profits at the expense of Nigerians.

The statement read in part, “As a committee, we urge the Nigerian 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 today and adding to this 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.”

Doguwa, who doubles as the Chairman, Special Committee on Crude Oil Theft and Vandalisation of Pipelines, also pledged the readiness of the committee to tackle the challenge caused by the loss of revenue to the government owing to the loss of crude.

“As a special committee, we will aggressively seek modalities to interface with the youths and community leaders in the oil-producing areas to address the frequent cases of crude oil theft, which is one of the reasons capable of affecting petrol supply across the country.

“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.

The lawmaker also advised Nigerians to give the President Tinubu-led government a chance to reposition the oil and gas sector, noting that with the Petroleum Industry Act coupled with the effort to revive the nation’s refineries, Nigeria would in no distant time reap the benefit of her oil and gas endowments to the benefit of the entire citizenry.

“We believe that with the interventions the government is making to commence operations at Port Harcourt and Warri refineries, these challenges will come to an end,” Doguwa added.

According to the All Progressives Congress chieftain, the challenges in the nation’s oil and gas sector are largely due to the failure of successive administrations to muster the courage to do the right thing, adding that the APC-led government is bent on making the country take her rightful place in the comity of nations.

“We may be suffering today but our tomorrow will be better. The government of the day is taking significant steps, which may be painful today but very soon, we will beat our chests as proud Nigerians because the future is great.

“Tinubu means well for us and he is desirous of leaving a legacy that future generations will be proud of,” he stressed.