Federal Govt moves to adjust petroleum-pricing template

*Says review will not affect pump price

Doosuur Iwambe, Abuja

Executive Secretary, Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Mr. Ahmed Bobboi, has said that the Federal Government is putting in place measures to review the Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) template.

This measure Bobboi explained would help in addressing the demands of members of the Nigerian Transport Owners Association (NARTO) that recently withheld their services over the non-increment of their cost of bridging to N9.11.

Speaking during an interaction with journalists in Abuja, Bobboi however allays fears saying, the review will not affect the pump price of the product but would rather cushion the plights of transporters in the country.

He said, “We are looking for a way of coming up with a temporary measure to review the template without adding anything to cushion and provide succour for the transporters’’.

Recall that the leadership of the Petrol Tanker Drivers (PTD), withdrew their services on April 20, 2021 following the failure of the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO) to negotiate the renewal of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for new working conditions for the drivers.

They also demanded the compulsory installation of safety valves in all petroleum trucks to protect the inflammable contents from spilling over in case of road mishaps.

However, Bobboi disclosed that government was in talks with all parties to ensure a permanent solution to the problem adding that despite the provision of a new transportation cost of N9.11 in the new petrol pricing template, the implementation was delayed by the negotiation between labour and the government.

He further disclosed that the Federal Government is considering the possibility of transporting petroleum products for marketers by rail across the country.

“We are looking at the possibility of getting marketers to transport their products by rail because government is reviving many of the critical rail lines,” he added.

The PEF boss further revealed that plans were in place to subsidise the transportation and distribution costs of Liquefied Petroleum Gas otherwise known as cooking gas.

He explained that the bridging scheme for gas is to ensure its affordability and accessibility across the country, as well as the addition of value to the economy in many ways.

“We are trying to introduce the bridging scheme to gas because government has declared this year till 2030 as a decade of gas.

“And we say if this (petrol price equalisation) is working for the economy for over 45 years now effectively, if we can extend the practice to gas we believe that it will add value to the economy in so many ways in the value chain.

“It will help in getting the consumers in those areas to accept the usage of gas and abandon the age-long use of firewood in cooking with its attendant problems and challenges including health hazards and deforestation which causes a lot of problems in the country.

“It will also makes it affordable to the people because if you incentives the marketer by paying for his transportation to take it to the last mile, the consumer will also be incentives because the marketer will bring down his price so that it will be affordable and accessible to consumer’’,Bobboi added.