The economic hardship occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy may be getting worse as oil marketers are set to peg the price of petrol at N1,200/litre.
In a recent development, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and fuel marketers under the aegis of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, on Tuesday, clashed again over the removal of subsidy on petrol.
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.
Similarly, oil marketers told PUNCH 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.
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.
However, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, dismissed the positions of economists and marketers as assumptions, maintaining that the Federal Government had indeed discontinued petrol subsidy.
When questioned about the alleged subsidy by dealers and experts, the NNPCL’s CCCO said, “We prioritise our time on substantive matters rather than responding to assumptions.
“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.”
