The federal government maybe considering an increase in fuel price as a solution to the lingering petrol scarcity in the country.
Leadership reports that the Bauchi state governor, Mohammed Abubakar, gave an indication of the impending increase in fuel price when he spoke with journalists after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting presided over by Vice- President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa on Thursday, February 15.
The governor was reported to have said that a NEC committee headed by the Gombe state governor, Ibrahim Dakwambo, will interface with NNPC with a view to determining the correct price for PMS considering the price of the product in countries bordering Nigeria.
Abubakar noted that the group managing director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru, briefed council on the reason why the fuel scarcity still persists.
He said: "The second issue that was discussed was the issue of the scarcity of petroleum product. The problem was addressed by the Group Managing Director of the NNPC.
“The issue is of course caused by an inter-play of the change rate of the Naira and the Dollar and the price of crude oil at the international market which affects the landing cost of refined products in Nigeria.
“And in the process makes the operation of the current price regime almost impossible without some measure of nile return for whoever is in the process.
“As at today, most of not all independent marketers have stopped importing, refine products into Nigeria. It is only the NNPC that has been doing it. And the NNPC has been suffering a lot of set backs. The highest amount of under recovery.
“By under recovery it means the inter-play between the landing cost of a liter of the PMS in Nigeria and the pimp price of that product. If the product lands at N170 for example and you sell at N145, immediately you know that you have an under recovery of about N25 for each liter of fuel.
“So submitted his report and the National Economic Council has a committee that has been interfacing with all revenue generating agencies of the federal government under the chairmanship of the governor of Gombe State.
"That committee has been charged with the responsibility of interfacing with NNPC with a view to determining the correct price for PMS considering the price of the product in especially countries that are bordering Nigeria. Because that is one of the reasons that encourages smuggling of the products to these areas.”
Meanwhile, the minister of state for petroleum resources, Ibe Kachikwu, on Thursday, February 15, directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to ensure that petrol queues were cleared in Abuja before Sunday, February 18.
Daily Trust reports that Kachikwu gave the directive at a world news conference to intimate journalists on the upcoming international oil and gas conference and exhibition tagged the Nigerian International Petroleum Summit (NIPS).
Our source also gathered that Kachikwu said the queues have been persistent because logistics and policy issues that could end the scarcity are largely unaddressed.
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