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Joseph Obele, Chairman of the Rivers State Chapter of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has admonished the Federal Government on the steps to take to lower the cost of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol, in the country.
According to the marketer, if the government can make the nation's refineries functional again, the price of fuel will crash to less than ₦200 per litre.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu recently said the Port-Harcourt refinery, which is currently under rehabilitation, will be ready for operations in December this year, while the Warri refinery is also billed to come on stream by the first quarter of 2024.
“Until our nation-owned refineries are functional, fuel prices will keep increasing due to international variables. But when our refineries are functional, Nigerians will buy fuel less than ₦200 per litre," Obele told Saturday Punch.
This is coming amid a squeeze in the economy caused by Tinubu's decision to end the fuel subsidy regime, which has led to a massive jump in fuel prices.
However, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, during a visit to the Port Harcourt Refinery on Friday, August 25, 2023, reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to get the refinery up and running again.
However, Obele raised concerns that the forex scarcity had continued to affect importers, adding that the product would continue to increase if the government failed to offer a short-term solution.
“The scarcity of dollars has made it difficult for importers of petroleum products to continue further importation. For about two weeks now, the petroleum distribution chain has experienced turbulence. This is evident on the NNPC buying portal of marketers, the marketer said.