PPPRA, marketers debunk planned increase in fuel prices

Again, major stakeholders in the downstream sector of the oil and gas sector have reassured the nation that there is no plan to increase the price of petroleum products, especially Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) from the current N145 per litre.

Despite the reassurance, some retail outlets in Lagos and other parts of the country had begun hoarding fuel, in anticipation of the announcement of an increase in price, as there were noticeable queues at these outlets.

The stakeholders, which included the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association (DAPPMA) and chief executives of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) made the clarification yesterday in Abuja.

The meeting, which was chaired by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Board Chairman of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, was attended by the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Acting Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Acting Executive Secretary, Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF), Executive Secretary, MOMAN, the Executive Secretary, DAPPMA and the chief executives of oil marketing companies.

The development came even as the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the industry regulator told The Guardian on telephone yesterday that: “There is in fact a surplus of products at the depots, nobody can hoard anything now.”The DPR, which was not represented at the meeting, cautioned the public against panic buying.

The meeting reviewed the state of the downstream sub-sector, especially products supply, distribution, pricing and foreign exchange sourcing. The summit also reviewed recent concerns expressed on the sustainability of the current PMS price regime.After deliberations, the stakeholders affirmed that speculations of an upward review of the price of PMS was unfounded.

They said: “This position is premised upon the fact that the current market fundamentals, as captured on the PPPRA pricing template for PMS, confirmed that the market is operating within the existing price band of N135-N145 per litre. The claim is therefore both unfounded and deceptive, as there is no basis for pricing speculations as being circulated within the last few days.”

Expatiating on the price band, one of the attendees of the meeting told The Guardian that selling petrol at the current price band is dependent on government and the international oil companies (IOC)s’ continued support with accessing foreign exchange.

The statement, which was jointly signed by the Acting Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Mrs. Sotonye Iyoyo, Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Obafemi Olawore and Executive Secretary of DAPPMAN, Olufemi Adewole, assured stakeholders in the sector of uninterrupted products supply and distribution.The PPPRA used the opportunity to assure Nigerians of “government’s continued commitment to the welfare and well-being of the citizenry.”