A presidential aide said the Dangote Refinery was running away from pricing in order not to look bad to Nigerians.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, noted that the refinery was the sole determinant of pricing, adding that it could not sell fuel below its cost price.
“The petrol price cannot be less than N1,000; that was why Dangote decided to push it to the government. So, if the price is determined by the Federal Government, people can attack the government. How does a private company ask the government to fix its price?” the official stated.
In a statement on Thursday, the Dangote Group Chief Branding and Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina, had said the PMS market in Nigeria was strictly regulated and the refinery would wait for relevant government agencies for the price.
He said, “The PMS market is strictly regulated, which is known to all oil marketers and stakeholders in the sector, hence we cannot determine, fix, or influence the product price, which falls under the purview of relevant government authorities.”
However, the NNPC, in another statement by its spokesman, Olufemi Soneye, made a contrary claim about the price.
The company held that the PMS market had been deregulated and market forces would determine the price of the product.
Soneye was quoting the Executive Vice President of Downstream, NNPC, Adedapo Segun, saying Section 205 of the Petroleum Industry Act, which established NNPC Ltd, stipulated that petroleum prices were determined by unrestricted free market forces.
“Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices,” the NNPC submitted.
Market forces
Experts said that if the NNPC and the Federal Government allowed market forces to determine the price of Dangote petrol, it might be as high as N1,000 per litre.
“Can Nigerians buy petrol at N1,000 or N1,100?” a depot operator queried, asking the government to intervene to ensure affordable energy for Nigerians.
Speaking with our correspondent, an energy consultant and expert, Henry Adigun, said the cost of producing a litre of PMS is an average of N750, without any additional cost.
According to Adigun, this could rise to N800/litre when other margins are added, which will also increase when it gets to the filling stations.
Punch
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