NNPC explains increase in price of kerosene

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has attributed the increased in the price of household Kerosene in the country to the pressure of demand and supply.

NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, said on Sunday in Abuja that the price of the product has been deregulated.

“The point remains that the price of kerosene is deregulated. It is not as controlled with reference to premium motor spirit known as petrol; that is why we see the prices moving up and down.

“The important thing is that the trend you are seeing there has to do with supply and demand. The more the demand, the higher the price locally,’’ he explained

Ughamadu said that the NNPC remains the sole importer of the product and has been augmenting it with the skeletal production from the refineries, just as he reiterated the commitment of the corporation to the adequate supply of petroleum products for Nigerians.

“The corporation is doing everything to ensure that we import more volumes of kerosene because, we believe that this is the energy source that the low income earners in the country use,’’ he added

Findings in some suburbs in the Federal Capital Territory indicate that the price of kerosene ranges between N400 and N500 per litre while that majority of filling stations along the Kubwa express road, Dutse and Zuba hardly sell the product.

Most of the consumers buy the products from the road side. At Dutse market, the price was N400 per litre while within Kubwa it is sold between N450 and N500 per litre.

A kerosene seller at Kubwa village market, Mrs. Halima Saidu confirmed that she buys the product from filling stations at different prices, disclosing that “I sell at N450 per litre now, but if I buy at higher price at the filling station, I will sell above that.’’

Selfishness, greed responsible for Nigeria’s woes, says Cleric

The Assistant Parish Priest, Church of Immaculate Conception, Zaramaganda, Jos, Plateau state, Rev. Fr. John Fwagos, says selfishness and greed are responsible for the myriad of challenges facing Nigeria.

Fr. Fwagos, who stated this in a sermon on Sunday in Jos, said that primitive accumulation of wealth was exacerbating the country’s problems and expressed worry that few privileged individuals most times commandeer public resources for their selfish and personal use at the expense of other citizens.

“While I am not justifying the crimes like kidnapping, killings and other vices, sometimes our leaders through their greed don’t leave the people with a choice. For example, every year universities graduate many youth, but there is no employment for them.

“Resources meant for setting up ventures that would gainfully employ these youth are siphoned and kept somewhere while people are suffering,” he said.

The priest urged Nigerians, particularly leaders, to be kind and generous to one another in order to obtain God’s favour.

According to the cleric, God rewards kindness and that those who are kind would go to heaven because they are storing treasures for themselves in heaven.

“God is not against genuinely gotten wealth; God wants us to use our wealth to share with other people, especially the poor. When you are kind and generous, your sins can be forgiven by God because at the end of the day, judgment will be based on our relationship with one another.

“Whether you are the President, the governor or whatever position you are occupying, judgement will be based on our relationship with people,” he said.

Fr. Fwagos further said that there is no peace and security in ill-gotten wealth because it makes the person afraid and insecure all the time.

He said that life without God is vanity as owners of money, houses and many other material things would one day die and leave everything behind