The group chief executive officer of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari has stated that the pump price of premium motor spirit (petrol) may rise to N410 per litre, after the removal of subsidy on the product.
The federal government plans to stop subsidy payment on the commodity next year.
Even though the official retail price of the commodity is N165, it is being sold for between N175 and N250 in different parts of the country.
Marketers have insisted that the product be sold for a minimum of N200, even as queues persist at filling stations in Abuja and other major cities.
Speaking at the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Summit organised by the House of Representatives in Abuja, on Wednesday, Kyari said it was not possible 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,” he stated.
According to him, subsidy in some places was up to N290 on every litre, adding that “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.”
Speaker of the House of Representatives, 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.
