- Says Current Landing Cost At Over N1,000 Per Liter Unsustainable
- NNPCL Allays Fears Of Price Increase, Scarcity
Nigerians are currently gripped by uncertainty and confusion over the sole importation status of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) despite importation licences to several other oil marketers.
The Matrix gathered that oil marketers who were importing gasoline into Nigeria approximately four months ago have ceased doing so leaving NNPCL as the sole importer of PMS.
READ ALSO: Increase In Fuel Prices, IPMAN Opens Up
Top 10 Stories Across Nigerian Newspapers, FRIDAY MORNING, January 05, 2024
The oil marketers disclosed that they stopped importing because the NNPCL was hell-bent on forcing the marketers to sell at fixed pricing of N568 or N617, depending on the area, making it impossible for them to sell at market-driven prices.
“For more than four months now, no other importer has brought in the product except the NNPC Ltd,” one of the marketers, who got licensed to import petrol, told BusinessDay.
The source explained that the current price of petrol had been sustained because the government was subsidising the commodity.
READ ALSO: PMS Causes Confusion As Marketers Halt Fuel Import
“It’s difficult to break even because the current landing cost is over N,1000; no marketer has brought in the product due to the reintroduction of subsidy,” the source stated.
Reacting to the development, Mele Kyari, the group CEO of NNPC Ltd said oil marketers withdrew from the importation of petrol because they could not manage the challenges of price fluctuations in the downstream sector.
“The oil companies withdrew because they can’t manage the oscillation and responsibility that the Petroleum Industry Act imposed on us. We have the market and I can assure you that we are managing this. Some marketers buy from us and sell. But there is an element that we can’t control. For instance, truck owners can adjust their prices, we have no control over that”, he told lawmakers during a session with the Senate Committee on Finance last December.
Meanwhile, NNPC Limited has debunked reports that it plans to increase the price of petrol to N1,200 per litre.
READ ALSO: Top 10 Stories Across Nigerian Newspapers, FRIDAY MORNING, January 05, 2024
Reports had emerged on Wednesday that NNPC will soon announce a new increase in the price of fuel across the country.
Debunking this, the NNPCL in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, on Wednesday, January 3, 2024 urged Nigerians to disregard what he described as “unfounded” rumours making the rounds in the country and not engage in panic buying of petrol.
He stated: “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd. assures the public that there is no imminent increase in the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol.
“NNPC Ltd. urges Nigerians to disregard unfounded rumours and assures them that there are no plans for an upward review of the PMS price.
“Motorists nationwide are advised against engaging in panic buying, as there is presently ample availability of PMS across the country.”
