The International Monetary Fund has told President Bola Ahmed to strengthen social protection for the vulnerable to cushion 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.

His comments come as Nigerians groan over the hike in the petrol pump price to N897 and N980 per litre for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited retail outlets and independent marketers filling stations from N617 and N720.

According to the IMF boss, the development together with other shocks from high inflation which stood at 33.40 percent in July 2024, the recent flood worsened the pains for Nigerians.

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”, he said.

DAILY POST reports that at least 30 persons and several were displaced from the flooding in Maiduguri Borno State.