Minister of state for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, has justified clamour for an increase in the pump price of fuel, saying that there are countries that pay higher for fuel.

Speaking at the government’s accountability series titled “PMB administration scorecard 2015-2023”, Mr Sylva said he would not mind purchasing fuel at N300 per litre. 

During his presentation, Mr Sylva claimed that other countries sell fuel at higher prices than Nigeria, arguing that N300 per litre is not an excessive price.

“Frankly, if you ask me I will say I won’t feel bad (buying fuel for N300) knowing the actual situation. And if you compare Nigeria to other countries, then you will also understand. Then you convert the N300 to other currencies, you will probably understand,” he said.

“A lot of you travel to the United Kingdom and the United States. How much do you buy petroleum products? Even in Saudi Arabia and in the Arab countries that produce crude oil, convert to naira, you will find out that we are not doing too badly,” he added.

His remark comes as President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration prepares to phase out the fuel subsidy regime. Nigerians will have to pay more for fuel when the subsidy regime is phased out.

However, due to recent scarcity, several fuel stations have independently raised pump prices, with marketers selling above the approved government price of N170 per litre.