The Federal Government says the comparison made by President Muhammadu Buhari on fuel prices between Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and other countries in his 2020 Independence Day national broadcast is justified.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the submission when he featured on a Radio Nigeria current affairs programme, “Radio Link’’ on Saturday in Abuja.

President Buhari said in his Independence Day broadcast that: “we sell petrol at N161 per litre when same is sold at N168 per litre in Saudi Arabia; N211 per litre in Egypt; N362 per litre in Ghana; N362 per litre in Chad, and N346 per litre in Niger Republic.
“It does not make sense for petrol to be cheaper in Nigeria than Saudi Arabia.’’
A cross-section of Nigerians, however, criticised the president for making such comparison without considering the minimum wage, standard of living and infrastructure in Saudi Arabia in particular.

Responding to the critics, the minister said there was nothing wrong in making such a comparison.
“Some people have said that why should we compare ourselves to Saudi Arabia with better infrastructure and higher wages. Our answer to that is very simple. Saudi Arabia has 34 million people while Nigeria has 200 million people. Saudi Arabia produces 10 million barrels of crude oil per day, while Nigeria produces at its best, 2.1 million barrel per day."

“Their population is about one-sixth of Nigeria’s population and they are blessed with more resources.
Therefore, they can afford to pay higher wages and build infrastructure. Our argument must be put in proper perspective."

“As we have said, whatever money we make from the subsidy removal, we will invest in infrastructure development’’ he said.

The minister commended organised labour for its understanding and patriotism in suspending its planned strike to protest the fuel price deregulation and the electricity tariff adjustment. He noted that the suspension of the strike by the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress and their affiliates, averted a “national calamity’’. Alhaji Mohammed said after spending sleepless nights engaging with organised labour, the two congresses agreed with the government that the fuel deregulation was inevitable

“The moment we lost as much as 60 per cent of our earnings and suffered a kind of shock in crude oil prices, we must deregulated. Between 2006 and 2019 we paid N10.413 trillion in fuel subsidies; an average of N743.8 billion per annum,’’ he lamented. The country right now cannot afford the subsidy regime,’’ the minister stressed.

He said the government agreed with labour that it would facilitate the setting up of many modular refineries and rehabilitate existing regular refineries to cushion the effect of the deregulation. He said the Ministry of Petroleum Resources would intensify efforts to ensure that Nigerians could get alternatives such as gas to power their vehicles and machinery. Alhaji Mohammed said that the first autogas station would be inaugurated and opened to public next week in Lagos.

On electricity tariff adjustment, the minister explained that the government agreed with labour to establish a joint committee to investigate and confirm that the price increase did not affect vulnerable Nigerians. He said the committee would specifically ascertain and ensure that the price increase did not affect Nigerians who get less than 12 hours of electricity per day. Alhaji Mohammed said the government would provide five million households with solar power in the next 12 months.

He said the solar energy programme would benefit at least 25 million people and would create about 250,000 jobs. The minister said the government was also working toward providing other palliatives to cushion the effect of the tariff adjustment and fuel price deregulation.

https://tribuneonlineng.com/why-nigeria-cannot-sell-petrol-lower-than-saudi-arabia-egypt-others-%e2%80%95-lai-mohammed/

Then pay us the same minimum wage equivalent to Saudi Arabia.

Insensitive clueless leaders
We know this one is so insensitive long time ago.
Minister of deformation.

Some of them talk to please their slave master. He is merely repeating the rhetorics of his Master without any form of his own intelligence. When converted to Naira, Saudi Arabia pays N305,126 as minimum wage but they are struggling to pay N30,000 to Nigerian workers, meanwhile a larger percentage of Nigerians are without Jobs. He keeps his face like a squeezed jean to make nonesense statements, when in reality it's govt who fuels his vehicles.

The Federal Government says the comparison made by President Muhammadu Buhari on fuel prices between Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and other countries in his 2020 Independence Day national broadcast is justified.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the submission when he featured on a Radio Nigeria current affairs programme, “Radio Link’’ on Saturday in Abuja.

If the statement comparing the pump price in Nigeria to Saudi Arabia and other countries are justified, how come Lai Muhammad, Muhammadu Buhari Bola Tinubu et al had to come out to protest the removal of fuel subsidy, thereby raising the pump price in Nigeria in 2012?

Oh, what was bad in 2012 is no more bad but good I. 2020!

But you can pay minimum wage 20 times lower than them ko? Kontinu

This man disgusts me.

He was the mouth piece of APC when they were in opposition. Everything he spoke against then is what he vehemently defend now under this government.

He ought to resign if he has any form of decency. No standard, no shame. I hate seeing his face on Social media. He is hypocrisy personified.

Ori eleyi ti daaru tele

Most disappointed are those who had high hopes on this government. Some of us, from the onset, we didn't expect anything good from this government. I don't blame Liar Mohammed.

You told us that subsidy didn't exist. You told us you will make our refineries work. You told us that you will streamline government expenditures.


So when we complain, it's based on what you told us.

About the labor, they are there for their own good and not for the masses. Both you the ruling class and labor have same goal

yet the quality of the life Nigerians live is lower Than Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Others

Ori eleyi ti daaru tele

Isn't it obvious that Lai Mohammed wrote the Independence Day speech Buhari failed to go through before yarning dust?

Stupid people

Who else noticed how the clown stylishly and systematically quoted money spent on subsidies from 2006 to 2019?

He could have told us what PDP spent in 16 years and what APC spent in 4 years.

I don't blame him though, those who foisted Buhari on us caused all these.

Someone that should be taking care of his grand kids is vomiting trash here.

They even need a committee to know if the hike in power tarrif affected vulnerable Nigerians.

The worst thing that happened to Nigerians in 2020 is not covid 19 but the twin evils : NLC and TUC

See the lying liar? Just stupid people making Nigerian look as a glorified shithole it was called.It will also pass.

The petrol that is not your I don't understand this people. How much is minimum wage in Dubai compare to Nigeria minimum wage that couldn't buy bag of rice.