By Odunewu Segun
The Federal Government has assured Nigerians that it has no plans to further increase the pump price of petrol from the present N145/litre as being speculated.
The assurance came after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, on Monday.
Kachikwu’s statement comes a day after some former Group Managing Directors, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) advised the government to increase the price.
The former state oil chiefs argued that the current price cap of N145 per litre of petrol was “not congruent with the liberalization policy.
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They argued that the removal of the cap under a liberalised market environment would allow marketers of petroleum products to sell at a comfortable price based on factors such as the exchange rate and international crude price. With the Naira exchange rate going down by over 50 per cent to about N412 since the current petrol price was fixed, approving the recommendation would have meant Nigerians pay more for petrol.
Kachikwu said government would not heed to such an advice, especially at the critical stage of economic recession that Nigerians are battling with. “Have you seen any memo to that effect?” he responded when pressed on the matter by journalists.
The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, also said the government has no plan to increase the price of petrol.
The Petroleum Product and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) also confirmed what the minister said, stressing the Federal Government is not contemplating any such move. According to the acting Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Sotonye Iyoyo, the proposal was the personal opinion of the former GMDs of NNPC, and that of Government.
“If it was a recommendation, that is what it is – a personal opinion. I’m not aware government is planning any fuel price increase. We are in a liberalised market already,” the acting Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Sotonye Iyoyo, said.