On Monday, Sylva said that the Nigerian government has no jurisdiction to intervene in the rising price of domestic kerosene since it has been deregulated. Companies now import and sell it at a commercial cost, therefore it is a commercial decision.
“The claimed deregulation of the commodity was illegally pushed out by the (President Muhammadu) Buhari administration,” Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, declared on behalf of ASCAB as its Chairman.
Falana added that the minister made the assertion at a media briefing in Abuja to showcase the Buhari administration's achievements in the petroleum business since 2015, noting that kerosene prices had been deregulated and could no longer be controlled by the government.
Falana stated, “It is general knowledge that the Federal Government, through the NNPC, is the single importer of fuel into the country, claiming to be subsidising the product. How can the federal government enable private enterprises or market forces to set the pricing of the same product?
Falana highlighted that Chief Sylva stated in July 2020 that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) will cost between N95 and N97 per litre to make gasoline more affordable.
He said, “About a year later, the Minister stated that the Federal Government had set out N250 billion for willing investors in autogas assembly factories in the country to ensure that the autogas conversion of automobiles gave the desired results. The Federal Government should explain why PMS-to-CNG migration was abandoned.
However, contrary to Chief Sylva's allegation, the Federal Government is legally compelled by section 4 of the Price Control Act and section 316 of the Petroleum Industry Act to decide and regulate the pricing of petroleum products like petrol, motor spirit, kerosene, and cooking gas. The Supreme Court ruled:
"Item 61(e) allows the Federation to set commodity prices. The Federal Government controls petrol, diesel, and petroleum product pricing under the Price Control Act 1977 and Price Control Commodities Order 22 of 1979. I demonstrated that the Act and Order are laws."
He continued, “In Bamidele Aturu v Minister of Petroleum Resources and the Attorney General of The Federation (Suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/591/2009), Justice M. Bello pronounced the downstream petroleum industry deregulation programme unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.
Thus, the Court ordered the defendants, their agents, privies, collaborators, and whosoever and howsoever to fix petroleum product prices as required by the Petroleum Act and the Price Control Act. The Court also ordered the government to set and publish oil prices.
“In view of the clear statutory provisions and decided cases on the illegality of deregulating any aspect of the petroleum industry, the Federal Government should stop subjecting the Nigerian people to an excruciating economic crisis by allowing the so-called market forces to determine and fix the prices of petroleum products in the country.
“We urge on President Muhammadu Buhari, as Minister of Petroleum Resources, to call Chief Sylva to order for treating the legal and subsisting Federal High Court and Supreme Court judgements with contempt. If not, we will initiate contempt procedures against petroleum industry public officers.”
(Source: saharareporters.com)
