The problems facing NNPC are numerous and complicated. The solutions devised to end these problems are confusing, obfuscating and almost deliberately framed to be incomprehensible to the rational mind.

Mr Victor Shidok, the Acting Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), on Monday in Abuja said there was no plan to increase the price of petrol.

Despite the economic recession, consumers of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in Borno, Oyo and Ebonyi paid N164.09, N161, and N156.47 per litre respectively in January 2017.

There are indications that Nigeria may reduce the import of its petroleum products by 10% when a policy on biofuel becomes operational, the Executive Secretary of Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Victor Shirok, has said.

PPPRA’s defence follows recent allegations by the House of Representative, accusing the Agency of impoverishing Nigerians by making them incur unnecessary costs in its pricing template.

Respite may not come the way of Nigerians any time soon, concerning the prices of kerosine and cooking gas. This is because kerosine has since been deregulated, while the price of gas has been subjected to market forces.

Oil marketers have refused to resume the importation of petroleum products, particularly petrol, until the Federal Government can guarantee them access to dollars at the official exchange rate fixed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The rising cost of crude oil in the international market has renewed pressure on government to increase the pump price as subsidy is staging a gradual comeback.

Speaking on the Federal Government’s goal is to deregulate the downstream sector of the petroleum industry, Kachikwu said though the government is not there yet, it will continue to fine-tune the process until the goal is achieved.

The famous Mariah Carey song “All I want for Christmas” opens with a familiar refrain “I don’t want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need.”

The House of Representatives yesterday urged reduction of the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) popularly called petrol to N70 per litre.

Sir: I write in response to your front page lead story of Monday, November 14, 2016 headlined FG to Scrap NNPC, DPR, PPPRA, others to correct the impression that a final decision has been taken on the creation...