The federal government on Wednesday said it was currently engaging oil marketers on issues bordering on the cost of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol; fuel queues; and bridging claims payments, among others, in the downstream oil sector.
It was reliably gathered in Abuja that the meeting might lead to an upward adjustment in the pump price of petrol, as oil marketers had repeatedly blamed the persistent fuel queues in various parts of Nigeria on the unsustainable cost of PMS.
This came as the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, on Wednesday, joined their counterparts in the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria and the Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association to call on the government to raise the price of PMS gradually.
IPMAN and NOGASA had earlier pushed for the upward review of petrol prices, as some members of IPMAN had already effected this by selling above the N165/litre government-approved price.
Some of them currently dispense petrol at N180/litre and above in many states, including Abuja, Lagos, Ogun, Imo, and Niger, among others.
When informed on Wednesday about the demands of the various marketers’ groups, the General Manager, Corporate Communications Department, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, Kimchi Apollo, told our correspondent that the government was currently engaging the oil dealers.
“We are meeting them now on the various concerns, so don’t worry. By tomorrow, you will know the outcome,” he stated.
Apollo added, “The NMDPRA is engaging them in an ongoing meeting, so I’ll let you know the outcome. Hopefully, by tomorrow, you will know the outcome of the meeting.”
Asked if the meeting was being held with just MOMAN or all oil marketers, the NMDPRA spokesperson replied, “We cannot engage only MOMAN; we are engaging all of them. We are engaging them, so don’t worry. You will know the outcome later.”
The sole importer of petrol into Nigeria—the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited—however, insisted that it was not a regulator of oil prices and would not comment on whether the cost of petroleum products would be reduced soon.
“If you can call Shell and ask them for comments on petroleum products’ prices, then you can call us (NNPC) and ask us for such comments,” a senior official at the oil firm, who pleaded not to be named due to lack of authorisation, stated.
