The presidential candidate of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP), Donald Duke, has said Nigeria spends more on securing its crude oil than on extracting it.
Duke argued that high security costs and deteriorating infrastructure have driven up production expenses and contributed to the high cost of petrol in the country.
He made the remarks during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, stressing that lowering the cost of producing and refining crude oil could help reduce petrol prices and ease the cost of living for Nigerians.
“The actual production cost of a crude in Nigeria is anywhere between $12 and $15. What takes it up to $25 or $45 is security costs and dilapidated infrastructure. So you’re paying more for security than producing the oil and even the NNPC says that they’re trying to bring it down to $20 a barrel. So in other words, the oil producing companies have added the security. You can’t tell me that you pay about $10 or $15 to secure one barrel that is produced actually between $12 and $15,” he said.
The former Cross River State governor maintained that the fundamental objective of government should be the productivity of its citizens. He said authorities must tackle all factors that hinder productivity.“I think the fundamental objective of government is the productivity of its citizens.
So you’ve got to tackle all the things that are inimical to the productivity of your citizens,” Duke stated.
He identified energy as a critical component of economic productivity and questioned why Nigerians continue to pay high prices for petrol despite the country’s status as an oil producer.“Now, energy is a kernel of it. Energy, capital, those things are very important. You’re an oil producing country. Supposedly you produce 1.7, 1.8 million barrels a day,” he added.
Duke also clarified that his proposal was to reduce the price of petrol to ₦300 per litre, not ₦200. He argued that revenue from other petroleum products could be used to further lower the price.“The point is, the margins that you make from other products, you can even use it and further dampen the price,” he said.
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