Unic Press UK: Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, on Wednesday, the 11th May, announced a new pricing for petrol [also known as premium motor spirit].
Ibe Kachikwu
The new price regime, which is N145.00 per litre and below, comes into effect on Wednesday, the 11th May. It represents a N58.50 rise or a 67.63% increase given that the old pricing was N86.50.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources who is currently the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Ibe Kachikwu, said:
“Pursuant to this, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has informed me that it will be announcing a new price band effective today, 11th May, and that the new price for PMS will not be above N145 per litre.
“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.
“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.
“We share the pains of Nigerians but, as we have constantly said, the inherited difficulties of the past and the challenges of the current times imply that we must take difficult decisions on these sorts of critical national issues. Along with this decision, the Federal Government has in the 2016 budget made an unprecedented social protection provision to cushion the current challenges.
“We believe in the long term, that improved supply and competition will drive down prices. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and PPPRA have been mandated to ensure strict regulatory compliance including dealing decisively with anyone involved in hoarding petroleum products.”
Kachikwu informed the media that the decision to increase the pricing of fuel was the outcome of a meeting that had in attendance the leadership of the National Assembly, representatives of the Governors Forum and members of the Labour Unions, including the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Kachikwu said that the primary reason for persistent petrol scarcity in recent times is not unconnected with the fact that the marketers of petroleum products were unable to meet their approximate 50% portion of national supply of PMS due to foreign exchange challenges that were caused by a massive decline on foreign exchange earnings of the Federal Government
Governor Fayose rebukes the FG
Ayo Fayose
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, chided the Nigerian government over the decision to increase the price of petrol.
In a message per his special assistant on public communications and new media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said:
“Nigerians are now left at the mercy of political liars who took over power by deception and are governing by deceit.
“When they were seeking votes from Nigerians, they promised to reduce petrol pump price from N87 to N45 per litre, they promised to create three million jobs per year, they said $1 will be equal to N1 and above all, they promised to pay unemployed youths N5,000 stipends and provide one meal a day to pupils nationwide.
“Instead of fulfilling their promises, they have increased petrol pump price to N145 per litre, increased electricity tariffs, retrenched thousands of workers and imposed untold hardships on Nigerians.”
