The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on President Bola Tinubu to strengthen social protection for the vulnerable to soften the impact of the recent hike in Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) pump price and flooding.

The Resident Representative of the IMF in Nigeria, Christian Ebeke, made the call Wednesday during an Arise Television interview.

He asserted that it is important to accelerate social protection in Nigeria so the vulnerable can cope with the multiple shocks.

His comments come as Nigerians groan over the hike in the petrol pump price to ₦897 and ₦980 per litre for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets and independent marketers filling stations from the previous ₦617 and ₦720 respectively.

As a solution, Eleke said, “It is important to strengthen social protection in Nigeria. It is important to accelerate the mechanism and the disbursement of this support to the most vulnerable, so they can cope with the multiple shocks they are facing now.

“The program the Federal Government has is reaching out to 15 million households, this is the way to go. This program should be accelerated, cushioning the impact of the pump price policy on the most vulnerable is the immediate priority.

“So our position again is while you are making these adjustments, it is very important to be mindful of the potential impact these have on the most vulnerable. Again, the narrative should be about how to accelerate support to the most vulnerable, so they can cope with this type of shock.”