FG rejects call to increase petrol price above N145

The Federal Government through the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA on Monday, rejected call to further increase the petrol pump price per liter.
On Sunday, the forum of former Group Managing Directors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, called for the price increase, asking for removal of price cap in the pricing template.
A removal of the price cap, gives marketers freewill to sell petrol at their desired prices- on several factors such as the exchange rate and international crude price. This means Nigerians would have to pay more given the Naira exchange rate going down by over 50 per cent to about N412.
The Nigerian government PPPRA, however, said that it has no intention of increasing petrol price.
The former GMDs had in a 12-point communiqué at the end their meeting with the incumbent GMD of the NNPC, Maikanti Baru, said the price cap of N145 per litre of petrol was “not congruent with the liberalization policy.”
The Forum said the current ceiling price of N145 per litre did not factor the current foreign exchange (FOREX) rate and other price components of the pricing template, like crude oil cost and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) charges, which remain uncapped.
The acting Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Sotonye Iyoyo, said the proposal was the personal opinion of the former state oil chiefs and not of the government.
“I think the Chiefs were merely making a recommendation. I’m not aware the Federal Government is planning on hiking the price from the N145 per liter that it is right now. We are in a liberalised market already so there wouldn’t be any need to call for further liberalisation” she said in a statement.
The spokesperson of the NNPC, Garba Deen Mohammed, had earlier told Premium Times that the advice as an “opinion.”
“The forum was expressing its opinion, which it is entitled to,” Mr. Mohammed told said.
“NNPC is a player in the petroleum industry and has a right to have its views about the industry. Nobody is bound by the opinion,” he said.