PETROL CHEAPER IN NIGERIA THAN US, GHANA, SOUTH AFRICA — MINISTER
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By ‘Balogun Ibrahim
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has said petrol remains cheaper in Nigeria than in the United States and some other African countries despite the removal of fuel subsidy.
Lokpobiri made the statement on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday while defending the Federal Government’s deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector amid concerns over rising petrol prices.
His comments came as the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and other fuel marketers began reducing their depot prices following a decline in international crude oil prices.
The media reported that Dangote Refinery reduced its petrol depot price from N1,350 to N1,325 per litre, while other marketers also lowered their prices in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Calabar and Warri.
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Despite the reductions, petrol was still selling for between N1,370 and N1,450 per litre in some locations.
According to Lokpobiri, Nigeria’s average petrol price remains below that of the United States, Cameroon, Ghana and South Africa.
He said the average price of a litre of petrol was about N1,430 in Nigeria, compared with N1,633 in the US, N1,959 in Cameroon and N2,070 in both Ghana and South Africa.
The minister argued that being an oil-producing country and having the Dangote Refinery does not automatically guarantee cheaper petrol prices.
He noted that although the US is the world’s largest producer of oil and gas and has significant refining capacity, its petrol price remains higher than Nigeria’s.
Lokpobiri also defended deregulation, saying the policy had created opportunities for private-sector investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
He argued that the Dangote Refinery would have struggled to remain viable if the government had continued importing petrol and selling it below the prevailing market price.
The minister further defended the removal of fuel subsidy, saying the resulting savings were being shared among the federal, state and local governments through the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
He said the increased allocations had enabled states to undertake major development projects, adding that the government had no plans to reverse the deregulation policy despite concerns over high energy costs.
Lokpobiri maintained that energy is a globally traded commodity and that fluctuations in international oil prices affect consumers across different countries.
He also pointed to the Dangote Refinery’s supply of aviation fuel and developments in Nigeria’s foreign reserves as indications of gains from the oil and gas sector.
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