…govt doesn’t regulate price – NMDPRA
The increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol from N540 to N617 per litre has been attributed to the market realities by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limted, NNPCL.
This attribution was made known by the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Malam Mele Kyari, during an interview with journalists shortly after a private meeting with the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, in Abuja.
Kyari said that the increase in the pump price of petrol has nothing to do with supply issues, adding that there are robust supplies of the product in the country.
The market is self-regulatory
Kyari said, “I don’t have the details at this moment. You know we have the Marketing Wing of the company; they adjust prices depending on the market realities.
“And this is the meaning of making sure that the market regulates itself so that prices will go up and sometimes they will come down also and this is really what we are seeing in reality this is how the market works.
“There is no supply issue completely when you go to the market you buy the product you come to the market and sell it at the prevailing market price there is nothing to do with supply, we don’t have supply issues.
“There is robust supply, we have over 32 days’ supply in the country, and that’s not a problem. What I know is that the market forces will regulate the market, prices will go down sometimes and sometimes it will go up, but supply will be stable.’’
He assured Nigerians that the policy was the best way for the country to go forward.
The NNPC boss added, “And I am also assuring Nigerians that this is the best way to go forward so that we can adjust prices when the market comes.
“I know that several companies have imported petroleum PMS so many of them are online. Market forces have started to play, people have confidence in the market and private sector people are now importing products.
“And there is no way they can recover their cost if they cannot take market reflective cost.’’
The government does not set prices
Also speaking on the issue, the Chief Executive Officer, of Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, said the authority doesn’t set the price of the product but the market determines itself.
Ahmed said, “As a regulator you know I told you back in May we are not going to be setting prices the market will determine itself and as you saw back in early June when prices came out it was based on the cost of importation plus other logistics of distribution and course the profit margin by the importer.
“This market is deregulated and is open to all participants. As mentioned also yesterday (Monday) when I was in Lagos, we have about 56 marketing companies that have applied for and obtained licenses to import.
“Out of those 10 of them have indicated to supply within the third quarter which is July, August and September. And out of those already, we received some cargoes from some of these Marketers.’’
It was observed that most of the filling stations owned by independent marketers are shut and are not selling yet.
