Petroleum marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), on Tuesday, are projecting a new price for the sale of Premium Motor Spirit popularly known as petrol across the country.
This development came against the backdrop of the depreciation of the naira against the United States dollar at both the official Investors & Exporters Window and the parallel market.
On Tuesday, the local currency closed at 998/dollar at the official market, while it traded at 1,225/dollar at the black market.
Similarly, oil marketers told our correspondent on Tuesday that subsidy on petrol was increasing considering the crash of the naira against the United States dollar and the cost of crude oil, stressing that PMS should sell for N1,200/litre in a free market.
On the back of the falling naira rate, economists and oil marketers said PMS subsidy was increasing in recent times, but the NNPC quickly countered these positions and declared that it was recovering its full cost on the importation of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol.
Petrol, which is solely imported into Nigeria by the NNPCL, currently sells for between N617/litre to N660/litre, depending on the location of purchase in Nigeria.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had during his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, declared that subsidy on petrol was gone, a declaration that was effectively implemented the next day by NNPCL.
Before Tinubu’s declaration, the pump price of petrol was below N190/litre, but it jumped to over N500/litre after the President’s statement, and moved up again to over N600/litre a few weeks later.
The Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, described the positions of economists and marketers as assumptions, and insisted that the Federal Government had stopped subsidy on petrol.
“At NNPC Ltd, we prioritise national development through energy security and sustainable growth. We reiterate that the Nigerian government does not pay subsidy on fuel; we recover full costs from our imported products.
“As a global energy company, our focus remains on fostering a vibrant and energy-secure Nigeria.”
The Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company, Bismarck Rewane, had during a live television programme on ChannelsTV on Sunday, explained that fuel subsidy was not removed but reduced.
He said, “At the inauguration, it was said that (fuel) subsidy was gone but subsidy was actually reduced.
“There is the convergence of exchange rates and reducing the windows into one. The consequence of that is that money has been transferred from consumers to the government.
“Subsidies are reversed taxes; if you reduce them, you increase the people’s taxes and reduce their income. What has happened is that government revenue has increased by 44 per cent between May and June (2023). Money has been transferred to the government but what is the government doing with it?
“The consumers, on the other hand, had a minimum wage, which in dollar terms was $40 in 2002. In 2019, it was about $70, but it has now been reduced to $24.”
The National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, stated that subsidy on petrol was rising and that the cost of the commodity should be around N1,200/litre in a free market.
“To be pragmatic in this analysis let’s consider the cost of petrol today in the United States. For premium petrol, it is $2.99, while super petrol sells for $3.15 or $3.10 depending on the part of that country where you are making the purchase.
“Now, $3 in Nigeria is over N3,000, because a dollar in the parallel market is over N1,000. You can also see the cost of diesel, that is over N1,000/litre, and it is important to state that petrol is usually higher in price than diesel in a free market.
“So if you consider the cost of diesel, dollar and other international factors, the price of petrol in Nigeria should be around N1,200/litre, but the government is subsidising it, which to an extent is understandable,” he stated.
Ukadike noted that he had earlier explained that the government was implementing quasi-subsidy, and by this it means that “the Federal Government, instead of taking out the subsidy by 100 per cent, decides to take out about 50 per cent.”
The IPMAN official, however, expressed optimism again that the cost of refined petroleum products would reduce as soon as the Port Harcourt and Dangote refineries start producing the commodities.
“I also believe that there will be a reduction in the prices of petroleum products this year when you consider what the government is currently doing. The coming onboard of the Port Harcourt refinery and the supply of crude to Dangote refinery are good developments in the sector.
“Their operations will help stabilise the price of PMS and other petroleum products in Nigeria, because it will definitely cut down the importation of products,” Ukadike stated.
Credit: PUNCH
