No Plans To Increase Fuel Price — NNPC Assures Nigerians

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru?, has said there are no plans to increase fuel price. ??Baru was appointed NNPC GDM July 5th.

Oil marketers h?ad on Monday hinted that due to the continued scarcity of foreign exchange to finance the importation of the Premium Motor Spirit (petrol)?, the price may increase from the official price of N145.

The dollar hit an all-time high last week, as it exchanged for N400 at the parallel market.

According to them if the scarcity of ?forex is not urgently addressed, the pump prices of petrol will not remain at the approved rates.????The Federal Government liberalised the downstream sector of the petroleum industry on May 11, 2016, and announced an increase in the pump prices of petrol from N86 and N86.5 per litre to between N135 and N145 per litre.

It also stated that the market was to be driven by the factors of demand and supply, as it was now largely in the hands of private sector players.??But oil marketers told our correspondent on Monday that despite the competition in the business, they were struggling to retain the price of the Premium Motor Spirit within the approved range.

Baru after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, told State House correspondents he has not been directed to increase pump price.

He said, “I have not been directed to increase pump price, even the other price was based on recommendation from the regulated body. I’m not aware that they are planning to do any increase, you know there are several factors that necessitated that especially the issue of exchange rate that has moved and we don’t expect any serious changes.

“So far the request for forex for importation of gasoline popularly called petrol has been met, and our own supply situation is robust, we are meeting demands. We have over 1.4 billion liters on ground. So I don’t see any basis for increase. However, the review could be done by the right body, you should contact PPPRA (@Petroleum Product Pricing and Regulatory Agency), that is the regulatory body as far as petrol pricing is concern.