The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has disclosed that without fuel subsidy, Nigerians will pay the pump price N410 per litre of petrol.
According to the NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, the market conditions take price to thrice of N170 pump price.
It is instructive to note that marketers had earlier in the week pushed for the sale of the commodity at N200 per litre.
While some fuel stations in Abuja city centre are selling for N180 per litre, others in outskirts and neigbouring states are selling for over N200.
The petrol scarcity and queues have continued till date with fewer vehicles plying the city roads.
Kyari, who spoke at Legislative Transparency and Accountability Summit organised by the House of Representatives in Abuja, said that the actual cost is thrice the present value of the product.
He said, “It is not possible for you to buy fuel at N170 when your actual cost is thrice that value. For instance, today, when PMS comes into this country, we transfer to marketers at N113 per litre for us to ensure N165 at the pump, so you must sell at N113 to them to be able to deliver at N165.
“That means whatever the cost, anything after that value, that is subsidy. Somebody has to pay for it. Everyone knows the price of PMS around the world. There is nowhere today that you can land a litre of PMS to the pumps at the N445 exchange rate, it is not possible.
“In some places, you are subsidizing up to N290 on every litre. With this regime, it is impossible for you to avoid all the wrong things that are happening.
Round tripping, cross-border smuggling, document forgery-anywhere you have arbitrage, you will have these issues.”
Kyari further justified the engagement of private security contractors to secure its facilities in an effort to fight against oil theft in the country, saying that the action has paid off.
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, said the summit was important for legislators and policymakers to gain valuable insights into the issues and achieve clarity on the actions needed to be taken to achieve greater transparency and accountability in the oil and gas industry.
Resident Representative of Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, Marija Peran, called for more transparency in the oil and gas sector, saying that Nigeria, the biggest producer of oil and gas in Sub-Saharan Africa, is at the same time one of the lowest ranking countries in the UN Human Development Index.
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