FG DEMANDS LOWER PETROL PRICES AT MEETING WITH DANGOTE REFINERY, MARKETERS
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By:Tajudeen Aminat
The Federal Government has urged petroleum marketers to reduce the pump price of petrol in line with the sustained decline in global crude oil prices.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, made the call on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting with marketers and other operators in the downstream petroleum sector.
Lokpobiri said the sharp fall in the price of Brent crude—from about $118 per barrel earlier this year to below $70—should be reflected in the retail price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and other petroleum products.
“The price of fuel should reflect what is going on now,” the minister said, urging marketers to pass on the benefits of lower international crude prices to consumers.
He questioned why pump prices had remained largely unchanged despite declining international replacement costs, stressing that deregulation should not translate into what he described as excessive profit-making.
According to the minister, the government’s preference is to engage industry players through dialogue rather than impose measures that may prove difficult to enforce.
He called on petroleum marketers to work with the government in developing a practical framework that would lower fuel prices without undermining the sustainability of their businesses.
“We would rather sit down with you and agree on a practical framework than try to impose measures we cannot effectively enforce,” he said.
The meeting, convened by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on the directive of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, was attended by representatives of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Dangote Refinery, the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), and the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), among other stakeholders.
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