Mele Kyari, general managing director (GMD) of the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says the company cannot continue to bear
the subsidy burden.
The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) had
released a template increasing petrol price to N212 per litre — but the
template was later deleted.
Speaking with journalists on Thursday at the Presidential
Villa, Abuja, Kyari said NNPC can no longer bear the burden of underpriced
sales of PMS, adding that the market price need to be implemented.
“The price could have been anywhere between N211 and N234 to the litre. The meaning of this is that consumers are not paying for the full value of the PMS that we are consuming and therefore someone is paying that cost,” he said.
“As we speak today, the difference is being carried in the books of NNPC and I can confirm to you that NNPC may no longer be in a position to carry that burden.”
The NNPC GMD said the federal government is working to
deepen the auto-gas programme which will serve as alternative to petrol.
“That is why early last year if you recall, the full
deregulation of the PMS market was announced and we have followed this through
until we got to September when prices shifted to N145,” he said.
“As we speak today, I will not say we are in a subsidy
regime but we are in a situation where we are trying to exit this subsidy or
underpriced sale of PMS until we get in terms with the full value of the
product in the market.
“Today, PMS sells across our borders anywhere above N300 at
any of our neighbours. And in some places, it is up to N500 and N550 to the
litre.
“In some countries, the Nigerian fuel is their primary fuel.
We are supplying almost everybody in the West African region, so it is very
difficult to continue this because we have our own issues and that is why the
eventual exit from this is completely inevitable.
“When that will happen, I do not know. But I know that
engagements are going on. The government is very concerned about the natural
impact of price increases on transportation and other consumer segments of our
society and as soon as those engagements are taken to logical conclusion, I am
sure that the market price of PMS will be allowed to play at the right time.”
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