The Federal Government has jerked up the price of petrol from N86 to ‘not more than’ N145 per litre.
Briefing State House correspondents on the development on Wednesday, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, said by the announcement, every entity in Nigeria was free to import petrol into the country.
He said the decision was taken at an enlarged meeting of stakeholders including leaders of the National Assembly and organized labour, members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum among others. The meetig was presided over by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.
According to the minister, the stakeholders reached the decision with the belief that the increase would bring an end to incessant scarcity being witnessed for months in the country.
The Minister also stated that it was the opinion of the Federal Government that availability of the product would drive down the pump price eventually.
Full address
“We have just finished a meeting of various stakeholders presided over by His Excellency, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The meeting had in attendance the Leadership of the Senate, House of Representatives, Governors Forum, and Labour Unions (NLC, TUC, NUPENG, and PENGASSAN).
“The meeting reviewed:
The current fuel scarcity and supply difficulties in the country.
“The exorbitant prices being paid by Nigerians for the product. These prices range on the average from N150 to N250 per litre currently.
“The meeting also noted that the main reason for the current problem is the inability of importers of petroleum products to source foreign exchange at the official rate due to the massive decline of foreign exchange earnings of the federal government. As a result, private marketers have been unable to meet their approximate 50% portion of total national supply of PMS.
“Following a detailed presentation by the Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, it has now become obvious that the only option and course of action now open to the government is to take the following decisions:
“In order to increase and stabilise the supply of the product, any Nigerian entity is now free to import the product, subject to existing quality specifications and other guidelines issued by Regulatory Agencies.
“All Oil Marketers will be allowed to import PMS on the basis of FOREX procured from secondary sources and accordingly PPPRA template will reflect this in the pricing of the product.
“Pursuant to this, PPPRA has informed me that it will be announcing a new price band effective today, 11th May, 2016 and that the new price for PMS will not be above N145 per litre.
“We expect that this new policy will lead to improved supply and competition and eventually drive down pump prices, as we have experienced with diesel. In addition, this will also lead to increased product availability and encourage investments in refineries and other parts of the downstream sector. It will also prevent diversion of petroleum products and set a stable environment for the downstream sector in Nigeria.”
