Many Nigerians will wake up this morning to the desolate reality as fuel price yesterday took a major leap, rising from ₦86 per litre to ₦145 per litre.
After the announcement yesterday of an increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise called petrol to ₦145 per liter, the news did not go down well with many Nigerians, as they spent the whole day venting the perceived harsh conditions that will follow. (READ REACTIONS HERE)
With the new price, advocates of deregulation – the government’s antidote to perennial scarcity of petrol – have carried the day, even as they are pushing for “full deregulation”.
Marketers are free to import products and sell but not more than ₦145 per litre, the government said.
Before the announcement, petrol sold for ₦86.50 per litre at major filling stations and for ₦86 at Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) stations.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Dr. Ibe Kachikwu broke the news at the State House, Abuja.
He said the decision was reached at a meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. It was attended by the leadership of the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and Labour unions (the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN).
The new pump price, Kachikwu said, will ensure increased supply and stabilise the quantity of the product.
Gone now is fuel subsidy, which guzzled billions of dollars in questionable deals.
The meeting also approved all oil marketers to import PMS.
The minister said: “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.”
Stressing that the government shares the pains of Nigerians, he said the inherited difficulties of the past and the challenges of the current times necessitated the difficult decisions on the critical national issues.
To cushion the current challenges, he said the Federal Government had made an unprecedented social protection provision in the 2016 budget.
Kachikwu also stressed that improved supply and competition will drive down prices in the long term.
According to him, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the PPPRA have been mandated to ensure strict regulatory compliance, including dealing decisively with anyone involved in hoarding petroleum products.
Kachikwu noted that the meeting reviewed the current exorbitant prices being paid by Nigerians for the product, which ranged on the average from N150 to N250 per litre in the black market.
The meeting, he said, 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 the government’s foreign exchange earnings.
As a result, Kachikwu said, private marketers have been unable to meet their approximate 50% portion of total national supply of PMS.
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My thought is #GodWillFight4Us# the poor and impoverished masses.
ReplyDeleteAnybody planning hardship living for us will not see the light of the day. The change we voted now becoming chain in our hands. God, fight for us the poor are dying come to our rescue in Nigeria
ReplyDeleteHow can this government say he has our interest at heart when he is adding more pain to the masses?
ReplyDeletePrices of everything has gone up but salary remains constant, even reducing in the case of private organizations.
This is truly the critical last days the bible spoke of.
Our father in heaven, pls we need your kingdom.
No good roads, electricity zero, drinking water not available since 40 yrs, now fuel at N145.00 per litre,pls Mr President and APC where is your campaign promises,do you people think of we poor mases before doing all this things,Remember when doing all this that you people are still going to beg for VOTES from us comes next election in 2019.
ReplyDeleteThis decision is long overdue.
ReplyDeleteIt is simply the way forward in the sector. It will eventually ensure constant availability of the product and bring an end to black market. I believe with time, the price will systematically drop.
The truth of the matter is that "no pain, no gain"!
Most annoying was that even at 86/86.5 control price, most Nigerians end up buying at far more exorbitant price. This decision will finally checkmate that. No excuse whatsoever again from any marketer.
KJoe
Please do not sound like a hypocrite...so why did they shout and protest when gej announced removal of fuel subsidy in 2012....hypocrites...
DeleteYes! Then they bought at N200, official Price was N86, now official Price Is N145, they'll probably Buy at N300. Is that good? Please use your brain. They Will always promise it Will aurgur well for us. How often has This happened?
Deletebros the GEJ PROTEST WAS 80% POLITICAL. LOTS OF PPL WERE PAID TO GO TO OJOTA
DeleteI just knew Buharia was bad for Nigeria... Western union not working, fuel 145 per litr, no light...oh Nigeria my dear country.!������
ReplyDeleteWhat is Nigeria turning into, foreign transfers not working, now fuel 145 per litr, no light, oh Nigeria my dear country... I knew Buharia was bad, all the money being recovered from past thieves, where is it going to ?
ReplyDeleteThey promised everything without thinking because all they wanted was power and did not care to think what happens to the people after. Nigeria is a wicked nation of selfish leaders.
ReplyDeleteThis govt is clueless, What was bad in GEJ is wonderful in PMB. Yet they shamelessly blame GEJ for their misfit. PMB positioned his people very well and North will rule for long. The Yoruba mafia that blackmailed GEJ shall dream of power, dance continue...
ReplyDeleteI believe that is the way out on this country Gej try it we did agree . Let live it this time around and see the way forward this time around.
ReplyDeleteBefore now we all buy petrol @ 86.50 per litre but in reality this exceeds 100 Naira.I observed this sharp and illicit practices in most oil marketers and one of the Senior attendant told me the litre has been tampered with which means it dispense fuel at supposedly 100 Naira or above per litre. Don't know if others observe this. However,this is not to praise the FG resolve on the increase but what l expect to see include; enforcement and regulation of oil marketers to keep to industry standard. Improvement on the quality of oil(what we currently have is no doubt adulterated and thus burn very fast. FG should be ready to translate this decision to improvement in power,water supply and general improvement in the economic outlook. God bless Nigeria!!!
ReplyDeletePlease ! They will still tamper with it at 145. Raising the price does not address that problem.
Deleteclueless, where is laiyer mohammed ,,the minister for lying ,,shameless propagandist of apc,,i dont blame pmb, because he dont know the devils that are in the pot that he found himself in,,,
ReplyDeleteThe increment should not be now. God will surely fight our battle for us in Jesus name.
ReplyDeletePainful but necessary.
ReplyDeleteYes! Painfully disastrous. I'd rather have waited in pain Whole This Govt made plans to build more refineries and bring to an end This shame of a country That exports crude importing finished produits. The greatest problem we have Is, not looking inwards to sort out Our problème. If pain comes by out Our using Our home grown méthode to solve Our problème, all well and good. But Our eyes are on foriegn countries helping us. Did You help the build theirs?
DeleteYou are right Jim, the pump reading has been tampered with and the fuel burns faster. I observed this long time ago and selects from on station to another to purchase but the fact is at the end all the stations practice same thing either adultrated or meter tampering or both. The increase in pump price will not stop this as they always want high profit margin . My stake is this, constant salary and every thing increases is wrong.
DeleteWhere is SS the troll!!?
ReplyDeleteChanji! Sai Baba! Changi dole!
ReplyDeleteThis decision is long overdue. It will definitely help in the long run. Anybody with basic knowledge of the market mechanism will know that it is the interest of the country that the decision was made. No reasonable government will impose hardship on its citizens intentionally. For the record, I support the decision in 2012 even though some people were not comfortable with my position
ReplyDeleteThis is a painful decision to take but most necessary, how can we continue in the same old ways that is not working, has this subsidy really benefitted the poor masses? a decision need to be taken and no better time than now. If all marketers are allowed to import PMS it means they will be surplus availability of product in the market and law of demamd and supply will surely force the price down since they will be competitions among the marketers to sell their products. Lets be patient, what goes up but come down.
ReplyDeleteDeregulate but subsidize nnpc filling stations to sell at 86 per litre, let the government compete with the private sector, the private sector wont have a choice but to drop their prices over time. Soon nnpc wont have too many people patronizing them and wont have to pay too much to subsidize supply.
ReplyDeletehow many nnpc stations do you have around you?
DeleteA matured decision that was far long over-due.Congratulations to you Mr. President, your vice president and the able and committed state minister of the petroleum for taking this critical but crucial decision.
ReplyDeleteour patience and confidence will ever remain with your change mantra.Thus, I pray that, God almighty will continue to guide, protect and support your system of administration.
You guys have be agitating for this so called change since and you got it at last
ReplyDeleteWhen Nigerians call for Change they didn't ask questions very well, Change is Change weather negative or positive... pls bear the pain
ReplyDeleteyou Nigerian you want change but you don't give change the chance. you are the one vandalizing pipeline to obstruct full refines process, engage in dollar laundry to make it scarce,causing many problem that fundamentally affect our economy, when you get the result of all your evil deed you then raise alarm blaming PMB.you are on your own.
ReplyDeleteProf whole Soyinka, PST tunde bakare and senator dino milaye will hide their faces in shame. Hypocrisy is now a way of life in Nigeria once it suit your political interest. Oya na, we still dey wait for the full version of the change.
ReplyDelete