The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu has explained why the President compared the price of petrol in Nigeria to that of Saudi Arabia in his Independence Day speech.
Speaking on channels television’s Politics Today, Mr Shehu said the comparison was important in the light of the technological cost of producing a barrel of oil.
According to him, Nigeria spends more on producing a barrel of oil but still sells petrol at a lower price than the Arab nation.
“So Saudi Arabia is important in this discussion because what is the technological cost of producing a barrel of oil in Saudi Arabia?
“It’s not more than a quarter of what we spend here, and yet you see them charging more than Nigeria. How much comes to Nigeria when you look at our technical cost?” Said Mr Shehu.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, in his Independence Day speech, said it made no sense for petrol to be sold cheaper in Nigeria than in Saudi Arabia.
The first citizen’s comment didn’t go down well with many Nigerians who insisted that the President ought to have compared the minimum wage in Nigeria to that of Saudi Arabia.
