Raising pump price of petrol to N300, not too much for Nigerians – Sylva

As the debates over the actual cost of pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), also known as fuel range on, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva has said buying the product at N300 per litre should not be too much for Nigerians.

Sylva who insisted that Nigeria is still operating a subsidy regime despite the disparity in fuel prices, which is far from the government-controlled price of N170, said in comparison with fuel prices in United Kingdom, the United States, and the Arab communities, he won’t complain if the petrol price was raised to N300/litre.

“If you ask me how I will feel as a private citizen to buy petrol at N300/litre, sadly, I will say I won’t feel bad, knowing the actual situation. And if you compare Nigeria to other countries, you will understand,” Sylvia said.

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He explained further, “When you convert the N300/litre that you are talking about to other currencies, then you will understand. A lot of you travel to the United Kingdom or the United States, how much do you buy petroleum products there? Even in Arab communities that produce crude oil.”

“Unfortunately we are still in a subsidised regime, which all of us know. As a country, I think it is a national consensus now that subsidy is not sustainable, but together we will get there,” the minister said.

Since the current fuel scarcity resurfaced in the last quarter of 2022, pump price varies across retail stations, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited stations selling at N170/litre, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) retailers selling fuel around N200/litre, while stations belonging to Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) sell petrol to the public above N230/litre.