PPPRA Opts for Full Deregulation of Petroleum Price

By Emmanuel Addeh

The Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Mr. Abdulkadir Saidu, yesterday disclosed that the pump price of petrol, will henceforth be determined by market forces.

He said with PPPRA’s current projection, the current price of N125 will likely stay till the end of this month.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja, Saidu, noted that price of the product will be largely determined by the international prices of crude oil.
“What the new pricing regime is going to be doing is going to be looking at the actual market price. It is going to be a reflection of what the market is doing.

“The way the market is going, this is N125 today; if by the end of March, the prices go below where they are today, then the Nigerian populace will be expected to pay less than N125. It is going to be a reflection of what the market is doing in any particular period.

“What we are trying to say is that going forward, the price will be a reflection of what the international market is doing. Normally, crude oil price determines the product price that we pay.

“Therefore, if the crude oil price moves, definitely, it is going to affect the price of petrol. If it goes down, Nigeria will pay lower,” he said.

Saidu also took a swipe at the independent marketers for flouting the new directive to sell at the new modulated price and faulted claims by the marketers that they were not consulted before the review was undertaken. “Usually, this is not the first time that government has changed price in the country. Any time there is price change, and there is tendency that these kinds of different positions will come up. Marketers usually want to take advantage of price increase.

“When there is price increase, everybody will jump and start selling at the increased price, but when you start selling at reduced price, everybody will start complaining. Normally, the complaint is that I kept a stock of product based on the oil price.

“Currently, this is part of what we are discussing with the marketers. We are having meetings with every stakeholder in this regard and it is something that we are going to sort it out” he added.

He noted that the PPPRA would continue its engagement with all stakeholders to ensure that they were all on the same page in the matter.

Related Articles