Inflation: Manufacturers Lament Increase In Diesel Price, Call For Suspension Of Tax, Levies On Importation

Amid the soaring price of diesel, manufacturers and experts have lamented the financial hardships caused by the increase, while also calling for a suspension of tax and levies on importation of petroleum products.

Commenting on the recently released inflation figures, chief executive of Centre for the Promotion Of Private Enterprise (CPPE) and former director general of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Dr Muda Yusuf noted that all forms of taxes and levies on the importation of petroleum products should be suspended to give a respite on the spiking energy cost.

“There should also be deeper stakeholder engagements across sectors to develop an enduring strategy on the way forward.

“For the basket of goods consumed by most households, prices have jumped by between 30-100 per cent over the past one year. The same is true of businesses. The pressure of spiking inflation on household budgets has been excruciating and unbearable. Purchasing power has been massively eroded, real incomes have depressed, and the poverty situation has consequently worsened”, he lamented.

According to him, businesses have been similarly impacted as they have been experiencing a slump in sales, turnover and profits margins.

“The impact on small businesses is even more severe because of their limited capacity to absorb economic shocks. The spiraling inflation dynamics should be elevated to the level of an economic emergency, deserving an urgent policy response at the highest level of government.  The impact on citizens welfare is inestimable. The effect on SMEs is troubling.  There is elevated social discontent, driven by increasing joblessness and hunger”, he added.

Currently, the average cost of diesel, which is also known as the Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), has risen to about N625 per litre in most filling stations, with some of them selling for as high as N630 per litre. This increase is not unconnected to the Russia-Ukraine crisis which escalated on 24^th February, 2022 after Russia launched an attack on Ukraine.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had noted that Africa is particularly vulnerable in the Russia-Ukraine crisis, as the war has affected the region in four major channels – increased food prices, higher fuel costs, lower tourism revenues, and potentially more difficult access to international capital markets.

Investors king had earlier reported that Chairman of the IPMAN Enugu Depot Community, Chinedu Anyaso, described the hike in diesel price as unhealthy, adding that this might lead to a stiffer hardship for Nigerians.

While enjoining the Federal government to take urgent steps to fix the country’s refineries or build new ones, he had assured that IPMAN would continue to ensure seamless distribution of available products in the South-East at the prevailing market price.