The administration of President Bola Tinubu has officially declared that it will not intervene in the ongoing petrol pricing dispute between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Dangote Refinery......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president, disclosed this during a briefing with a journalist in Abuja.
He noted that there was no need for the president’s intervention, stating that the decision aligned with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which grants the NNPCL autonomy as a limited liability company.
Punch reports that Onanuga emphasized that under the deregulated regime, the market, not the government, dictates fuel prices.
His words:
“Dangote Refinery, as a private entity, has every right to set its fuel prices independently.
“The PMS market is deregulated, meaning that players like the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and NNPCL are free to operate in accordance with market realities
“NNPC is on its own, even though it’s owned by the federal government, the state government and local councils and everything, but it’s operating as a limited liability company.
“You can see what the private market has said, that I think they find the NNPC or Dangote price too much for them. They will resolve to importing fuel because they clear market at the end of the day.
“Is the consumer who benefits if a price war starts, if NNPC fuel is too much, the public market can go to the market and bring in their own fuel and sell at the price that they think is very reasonable and profitable for them.
“So my answer is that, as far as the concern, the government is not dabbling into this controversy.”
He stressed that the president is more focused on the adoption of cheaper alternative fuels, such as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
According to him, CNG offers significant cost savings, with the price per litre currently at N230 compared to PMS, which sells for around N850 per litre.
“If you don’t want to use PMS, you can use CNG, and you can see what’s going on in many of our cities, Lagos, Ibadan, Benin and some other places where transporters are already embracing CNG.”
Dangote refinery/NNPC disagree on prices
NNPCL and Dangote Refinery have been involved in a dispute over petrol pricing, with both companies releasing statements countering each other.
Dangote recently criticized NNPC’s decision to announce a petrol price of N898 from his refinery, despite it being cheaper than imported petrol, the details of which remain undisclosed.
NNPC slash Dangote petrol price for marketers
Legit earlier reported that 11Plc, TotalEnergies, AA Rano, and other marketers have started lifting Dangote petrol through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Trading Limited for distribution to retail outlets nationwide for N765.99 per litre.
On Thursday, September 19, 2024, Tunji Oyebanji, the managing director of 11Plc, confirmed the development.
The new prices are far lower than the N898 per litre NNPCL announced for Dangote petrol when it was lifted from the refinery.