According to Section 16(1) of the Constitution, the government is responsible for “securing the maximum welfare, freedom, and happiness of every citizen based on social justice and equality of status and opportunity.” Section 16(2) further mandates that “the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good.”
Recent reports indicate that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has increased the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, to N855 per litre, up from about N600, with some prices exceeding N900 per litre. This price hike reportedly follows a scarcity caused by suppliers’ refusal to import petroleum products for NNPCL due to a $6 billion debt. Additionally, the NNPC is said to have failed to remit USD $2.04 billion and N164 billion of oil revenues into the public treasury, as noted in the Auditor-General of the Federation’s 2020 annual report.
