The federal government has assured Nigerians that it was not planning to increase the pump price of petroleum products.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha stated this on Saturday at the handing over ceremony of the mantle of leadership as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Inland Waterways Authority at the authority’s headquarters in Lokoja.
He said the fuel scarcity being experienced in the country in the last two weeks was being addressed by relevant agencies of government, adding that the long queues at filling stations would soon disappear.
The SGF attributed the scarcity to greed on the part of the marketers who created artificial shortfall to make profits.
Mustapha lamented the attitude of some Nigerians who derive pleasure in seeing others suffer, adding that it was unfair and ungodly for marketers to take advantage of the rush by people to celebrate Christmas and New Year.
He said, “I can assure the people that a day or two after the yuletide, the queue will disappear. The marketers caused the scarcity but we have engaged all the relevant stakeholders and we are confident that it will soon normalise.
“We are not thinking of increasing in the pump price. We have not discussed it and we will not increase the price,” he said, adding that panic buying was unwarranted.”
Meanwhile, private oil marketers are calling for government intervention to enable them to access foreign exchange at a special rate for the importation of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol).
According to them, selling the product at N145 per litre is no longer feasible with the current exchange rate.
Private marketers stopped fuel importation last year due to shortage of foreign exchange and increase in crude prices, which they said had made it unprofitable to import petrol and sell same at N145 per litre.
The National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Mike Osatuyi, said, “The problem is that the importation (of petrol) is being handled almost 100 per cent by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as private importers have backed out because the increase in crude price has made the landing cost enter subsidy.
“When the crude price hit $59 per barrel, we could not sell petrol again at N145 per litre if we were importing on our own. It is only the government (NNPC) that is importing and can warehouse the subsidy.”
He said the government through the Central Bank of Nigeria should have intervened by providing foreign exchange at a special rate solely for the PMS importation for both the NNPC and private importers.
Osatuyi said, “Right now, the landing cost of the PMS is N154. If you are importing at N305 to the dollar, by the time you add bank charges, it comes to N307 to the dollar. If you apply that to the current crude price, the landing cost is N154-N155. By the time you add all the margins, the pump price is about N160-N167.
“Before private importers can resume importation, the exchange rate to a dollar must be N250 and we can sell at the price of N145 per litre.”
Commenting on the forex challenge, the Executive Secretary, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, also said, “I am told that some people have special rates. If they do, fine; let them give to us also. We will prefer a situation where we have access to forex exchange and we can import.”
The Executive Secretary, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association, Mr. Olufemi Adewole, in a telephone interview with our correspondent earlier in the month, noted that the increase in price of crude oil had led to a corresponding increase in the prices of refined products.
“Landing cost of the PMS today has increased. By the time we land the product based on the international crude oil prices, petrol should be selling for between N165 and N170 per litre. But government is saying we should sell at N145. So, if there is no subsidy, we have to depend on the NNPC to give us the product,” he said.
