Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, gave tacit backing to the hike in the price of petrol and the implementation of new electricity tariffs.

The Federal Government had on Wednesday raised the pump price of petrol from N150 to N152, which propelled the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) to direct its members to sell the product for N162 per litre.

Since the announcement of the price increase, many Nigerians have continued to protest, describing the decision as callous and insensitive.

Abiodun, who spoke with State House Correspondents after he presented a publication on his first one year in office to President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, yesterday, said that Nigerians should be able to pay the new price since they enjoyed lower price when the price of crude oil went down.

“First, you want to enjoy lower prices when the prices of crude are low and then not want to pay for a slight increase when there is an increase in price of crude.

“The price of crude is directly proportional to the price of refined products.”BUT former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, condemned the increase in electricity tariffs.

Atiku, who was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last presidential election, took to his Twitter handle and wrote: “I reject the increased electricity tariffs. Coming out of the lockdown, Nigerians need a stimulus, not an impetuous disregard for the challenges they face. Many Nigerians have not earned an income for months, due to no fault of theirs. This increase is ill-timed and ill-advised.