Fuel scarcity: NEC plans price review

The National Economic Council (NEC) yesterday asked its
committee to interface with the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation with a view to determining the correct price of
fuel.

The governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, disclosed this
to State House reporters after the NEC meeting presided by Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo.

The governor, who said the Group Managing Director of NNPC
briefed the council on the current fuel scarcity, stated that the
committee would consider fuel prices in neighbouring countries.

He said: “The issue is, of course, caused by an interplay of the
change rate of the Naira and the Dollar and the price of crude oil
at the international market, which affects the landing cost of
refined products in Nigeria and in the process, makes the operation
of the current price regime almost impossible without some measure
of nil return for whoever is in the process.

“As at today, most if not all independent marketers have stopped
importing refined products into Nigeria. It is only the NNPC that
has been doing it. And the NNPC has been suffering a lot of
setbacks. The highest amount of under-recovery; by under recovery,
it means the interplay between the landing cost of a litre of the
PMS in Nigeria and the pump price of that product.

“If the product lands at N170 for example, and you sell at N145,
immediately, you know that you have an under-recovery of about N25
for each litre of fuel. So, he (NNPC GMD) submitted his report and
NEC has a committee that has been interfacing with all revenue
generating agencies of the Federal Government under the
chairmanship of the governor of Gombe State.

“That committee has been charged with the responsibility of
interfacing with NNPC with a view to determining the correct price
for PMS considering the price of the product in especially
countries that are bordering Nigeria, because that is one of the
reasons that encourage smuggling of the products to these
areas.”

But the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media
and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, said government had no plan to hike
fuel price.
“We are not expecting any upward review of price at this point,”
Akande said.

The National Economic Council (NEC) yesterday asked its
committee to interface with the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation with a view to determining the correct price of
fuel.

The governor of Bauchi State, Mohammed Abubakar, disclosed this
to State House reporters after the NEC meeting presided by Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo.

The governor, who said the Group Managing Director of NNPC
briefed the council on the current fuel scarcity, stated that the
committee would consider fuel prices in neighbouring countries.

He said: “The issue is, of course, caused by an interplay of the
change rate of the Naira and the Dollar and the price of crude oil
at the international market, which affects the landing cost of
refined products in Nigeria and in the process, makes the operation
of the current price regime almost impossible without some measure
of nil return for whoever is in the process.

“As at today, most if not all independent marketers have stopped
importing refined products into Nigeria. It is only the NNPC that
has been doing it. And the NNPC has been suffering a lot of
setbacks. The highest amount of under-recovery; by under recovery,
it means the interplay between the landing cost of a litre of the
PMS in Nigeria and the pump price of that product.

“If the product lands at N170 for example, and you sell at N145,
immediately, you know that you have an under-recovery of about N25
for each litre of fuel. So, he (NNPC GMD) submitted his report and
NEC has a committee that has been interfacing with all revenue
generating agencies of the Federal Government under the
chairmanship of the governor of Gombe State.

“That committee has been charged with the responsibility of
interfacing with NNPC with a view to determining the correct price
for PMS considering the price of the product in especially
countries that are bordering Nigeria, because that is one of the
reasons that encourage smuggling of the products to these
areas.”

But the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media
and Publicity, Mr Laolu Akande, said government had no plan to hike
fuel price.
“We are not expecting any upward review of price at this point,”
Akande said.