CEM REPORT, ENERGY | The fuel subsidy removal has continued to bring up new prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol. On Tuesday a new range of prices was unleashed upon Nigerians without prior warning.
Petrol pump prices rose to over ₦617 per litre at various outlets of the NNPCL across the nation.
The new price review comes months after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) reviewed the price of petrol to between ₦480 and ₦570 per litre, an over 200 per cent increase from the initial price below N200.
CEM gathered that private fuelling stations in Abuja sold the product for about ₦700 while the product was selling for between ₦600 to ₦700 in Lagos.
The immediate implementation of this will be that commuters will pay more for transportation as commercial drivers will not bear the brunt of the increment but will pass it on to them.
The timing couldn’t have been worse as commuters are still adjusting to new transport prices funded on the same income.
Explaining the reason for the rise the NNPCL attributed it to “market forces”.
Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, said with the deregulation of the oil sector, market realities will force the price of petrol up sometimes and at other times force it down.
He said this while speaking to journalists after a closed-door meeting with Vice President Kashim Shettima at the State House in Abuja.
“We have the marketing wing of our company. They adjust prices depending on the market realities. What I know is that the market forces will regulate the market.
“This is really what is happening; this is the meaning of making sure that the market regulates itself so that prices will go up and sometimes they will come down also. This is what we have seen, and in reality, this is how the market works and I’m also assuring Nigerians that this is the best way to go forward so that we can adjust prices when market forces come to play.”
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Addressing the issue of queues as seen in Lagos and Abuja, he said there is availability of petrol for distribution across the nation.
“When you go to the market, you buy the product; you come to the market, you sell it at the prevailing market prices. It’s has nothing to do with supply. We don’t have supply issues. There is a robust supply. We have over 32 days of supply in the country.”
