House of representatives members have called for the oil price benchmark for the 2022 budget to be pegged at $60 per barrel.
The members of the green chamber made the demand while contributing to the debates on the appropriation bill during the plenary session on Wednesday.
A lawmaker representing Etinan/Nsit Ibom/Nsit Ubium federal constituency (Akwa Ibom), Onofiok Luke said the $57 per barrel proposed by the Federal Government is not sustainable.
Luke said: “The pegging of oil price at $57 per barrel is totally quite very low. It is not sustainable,”
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“Permit to add that in the last three years since 2018, we have had a yearly high at an average of about $60 per barrel. So we should be advocating that there should be the upping of the pegging of $57 per barrel to $60 per barrel.
“In 2018, the year high was $77.41 cents per barrel; in 2019, it was $66.24 cents. In 2020 it was $63.23 cents. As of today, Brent is $83.27 cents. So we can have an average of $60 per barrel and that would be sustainable for us.”
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Contributing to the maater, chairman committee on customs, Leke Abejide the oil benchmark of $57 per barrel is very low.
According to Abejide: “The benchmark of $57 per barrel, if you look at the world market today, it is above $80,”
“I think this is a bit low. If we can look at it, not to be too ambitious, maybe we take it above $60 per barrel.
“I think this is a bit realistic because if you look at the trend for the past two years, it has never come down below this price. I think the price of 57 dollar per barrel is very low.
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