By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Federal Government has distanced itself from the latest hike in the pump price of petrol.
This was stated by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a chat with Daily Trust on Thursday
Speaking on the increase of fuel price, the Minister noted that the Federal Government did not give any directive to NNPCL to effect the current change.
Idris said that the provisions of Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has put fixing prices of petroleum products outside the purview of the Federal Government.
He added that the the NNPCL made the decision in response to prevailing circumstances in the energy industry
The Minister said with the subsidy regime ending since May 2023, the NNPCL had only been paying differential to keep the price within the range it had been, but the company said it could no longer absorb the losses.
“The differential you’re seeing is a result of different factors. One of them is the crisis in the Middle East. There’s volatility in the market. Therefore, the prices of petroleum products are going up, consistent with what is happening with other operators in the industry globally. Secondly, NNPC cannot continue to absorb these losses for Nigeria because as a limited liability company, it would be operating at a loss,” he said.
This is coming hours after the NNPCL raised the pump price of fuel from N897 to N1,030 in Abuja
The New Diplomat gathered that the price varies according to locations across the Federation. It is N1,030 in Abuja from N855 to N998 in Lagos; N1, 070 in North-East; N1,025 in other South-West states; N1,045 in South-East and N1,075 in South-South.
The increase has sparked reactions among Nigerians with many anticipating concurrent increase in the prices of other goods and services which will result in aggravating the other biting economy of the country.
But the Minister urged Nigerians to show patience and understanding with the NNPCL and the government, assuring that in the long run the prices would ultimately come down.
Idirs noted that there are plans in the pipeline by the government to cushion the effect of the increase on the economy.
He said part of the plans is to invest the savings from removal of subsidy to improve other critical sectors like healthcare, education, infrastructure, and security.
The Minister said the country will soon begin to witness the influx of more investors into the oil industry with the development.
